
Book , --- 



C0P5fRIGHT DEPOStR 



I 







SSHOOL AND FIRESIDE 



BY 

KARL & MAESBf^. D. L. D., 

GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT L. D. S. CHURCH SCHOOLS. 



... 1Illustrate^ . . . 




SKEIvTON & CO., Publishers. 



SKEI,TON, MAESER & CO. 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1898, by 

THE SKEIvTON COMPANY, 

in the office of the I<ibrarian of Congress, 

at Washington, D. C. 






f>029 



SKEI/TON & CO., Publishers. 



SKEIvTON, MAESER & CO. 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1898, fey 

THE SKEIvTON COMPANY, 

in the office of the I^ibrarian of Congress, 

at Washington, D. C. 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS, 



History of Education. 



Ancient .• 2 

1. The Babylonians and Assyri- 

ans 3 

2. The PhcEnicians 3 

3. The Israelites 4 

4. The Aryans 4 

5. The Mongolians 6 

6. The Hamitic Race 8 

7. The Classic Nations 10 

Mediaeval i3 

1. Mohammedan Education 13 

2. Christian Education 15 

(a) Chaotic Period 15 

(b) The Epoch of Chariemagne 16 

(c) The Ecclesiastical Period 17 

(d) The Period of the Reforma- 

tion 18 

Modern 21 

Introductory 21 j 

The Pietistic School 22 ' 

The Philanthropic School 23 

The Eclectic School 25 

Epoch of Pestalozzi 26 

Period of Struggle Between 

Church and School 27 

7. The Theory of Evolution 28 

Diflference between Oriental and 
Occidental 



Aims of Education. 



31 



34 



Definition 

In regard to the Objects to Be Ob- 
tained 34 

1. Preparation for the Require- 
ments of Practical I,ife 35 

(a) For Membership in the 

Human Family 35 

(b) For Citizenship 37 

(c) For Occupations . 38 

(d) For Family I^ife .. 4° 

2. Inculcation of the Fundamen- 

tal Principles of Spiritual 
Development 42 

(a) Cultivation of Moral Hab- 

its 42 

(b) Religious Training 44 

. In Regard to the Material to Be 

Worked Upon 47 

1. Development of the Physical 

Man 47 

2. Development of Mental Ca- 

pacities 50 

3. Cultivation of Spiritual Aspi- 

rations _ 54 

Persons Whom Education Affects. 

. Parents 59 

I. Beginning and Duration of 

Parental Responsibility 60 



PAGE 

2. Principles Underlying the 

Fireside Education 63 

3. Methods of Fireside Educa- 

tion 65 

II. School Authorities 7° 

1. State or Municipality 7° 

2. Church 72 

3. Modes.of Election or Appoint- 

ment 72 

[II. Teachers 75 

1. Qualifications 75 

(a) Physical Qualifications.., 76 

(b) Mental Qualifications 79 

(c) Moral Qualifications 84 

2. Standing of Teachers 88 

(a) Grades of Teachers 89 

(b) Duration of Service 91 

(c) Remuneration 92 

(d) As a Member of the Pro- 

fession 95 

IV. Children.... 97 

1. Age 97 

2. Sex 99 

3. Physical Condition 104 

4. Mental Capacities 108 

(a) Perceptive Faculties no 

(b) Imagination in 

(c) The Affections 112 

(d) Memory 113 

(e) Recollection ^ 113 

(f) Will-Power 115 

(g) Understanding 116 

(h) Reason 118 

(i) Dispositions 119 

5. Environment 121 

[aT Seasons 121 

b] Politics 121 

ct lyOcality 122 

d] Social Condition 122 

e] Denominations 123 

Organizations. 

I. Private Tutor System . 126 

II. The Public School System 128 

1. The University of Utah 131 

2. Agricultural College of Utah 139 

[a] Establishment of the Col- 

lege 139 

[b] Requirements for Admis- 

sion 142 

c] Courses of Study 143 

dj Courses in Agriculture... 144 
ej Course in Mechanical En- 
gineering 145 

[f] Course in Civil Engineer- 

ing 145 

[g] Farm Irrigation and Irri- 

gation Engineering 146 

[h] Commercial Course 147 

[i] Course in Domestic Arts... 147 

3. The District Schools 149 

4. High Schools 153 



TABI,E OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

[a] Denominational Teaching 
for Pupils of High School 

Grade 153 

III. Our Church School System 159 

1. Introduction 159 

2. Authorities 162 

3. Grades of Schools 166 

[a] Colleges 167 

[b] Brigham Young Acade- 

my — Historical 168 

4. Special Organizations 170 

(a) The Department of Music 170 

(b) Normal Courses for M. I. 

Officers 170 

(c) Normal Course of Instruc- 

tion for Sunday School 

Teachers and Officers... 171 

(d) Young I^adies' M. I. Course 172 

(e) Domestic Organization... 172 

(f) Rules and Regulations 173 

(g) lyibrary 174 

(h) I^aboratories 174 

(i) Museum 174 

5. Societies and Associations 175 

(a) Polvsophical Society 175 

(b) Ped.agogium 175 

(c) Commercial I<aw Club 175 

(d) Science Society 176 

(e) The lyiterary Department 176 

Lfl Military Department 176 

[g] Summer Schools 176 

LhJ History — Brigham Young 

College 177 

i] General Policy 178 

jj I,ocation 179 

k] Buildings and Grounds... 179 

1] Museum 180 

m] Apparatus 181 

" lyibrary and Reading Room 181 

College Societies .. 182 

Alumni Association 183 

Scholarships 183 

Historical — I<atter - day 

Saints College 183 

Special Organizations 185 

'a] I^adies' Class 185 

b] Theological 186 

cT The Field Club 186 

'dl The Students' Society 186 

7. Educational Collections 187 

[a] Apparatus, Etc 187 

[bj Regulations 188 

?c) Stake Academies 188 

(d) Seminaries 191 

(e) Religion Classes 192 

(f) Organization of Religion 

Classes 192 

IV. Co-ordinate Associations 196 

1. The Primary Organization .. . 197 

2. Sunday Schools 198 

3. Mutual Improvement Asso- 

ciations 204 

(a) For Young Men 205 

(b) For Young Xadies 207 

• (c) Conjoint Meetings 210 

Technics. 

I. Finances 214 

1. Free School System 216 

2. System of Full or Partial Tui- 

tion 219 

3. Endowments 221 



PAGE 

II. School Buildings 223 

1. I/Ocation 223 

2. Size and Architecture 225 

3. l,ight 228 

4. Temperature and Ventilation 230 

III. Furniture 233 

IV. Utensils 235 

V. I<ibraries, Cabinets, Etc 239 



School Management* 



I. Introduction 242 

II. Aims 243 

1. Development of Individuality 243 

2. Cultivation of Public Spirit.. 247 

3. Reverence for I<egitimate Au- 

thority 250 

III. Outline Work 253 

1. Circulars 254 

2. Plans . . 255 

3. Programs 255 

4. Records 257 

(a) The Historical Record . . . 258 

( b) The General Record 258 

(c) The Register of Studies. 258 

(d) The Rollbook 259 

Discipline. 

I. Introductory 260 

II. Methods 261 

1. Compulsory 262 

2. Emulative 264 

3. Conclusion 265 

Modes and Methods of Instructions. 

I. Modes of Recitation 268 

1. Preparation 268 

2. Standing Order of Procedure 

in Class Work 271 

(a) RoUcall 272 

3. Rules of Catechization 272 

(a) In Regard to Spirit 274 

(b) In Regard to Subject Mat- 
ter 275 

(c) In Regard to Form 277 

4. Special Methods of Recitation 281 

II. Special Associations and Clubs. .. 282 

1 . Debating Societies 283 

2. Polysoph'pal or Students' So- 

cieties. , 285 

3. Clubs for Recreation 285 

4. Secret Societies 286 

III. Text and Reference Books 286 

1. Students' Property 286 

2. School Property 287 

IV. Note Books and Journals 288 

Studies. 

1. Incidental 290 

1. Written Instructions 291 

2. Questions by Students During* 

Recitation 292 

3. Reports of Private Readings 

and Studies 292 

II. Formal 293 



TABI,E OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Grading - 293 

(a) Kindergarten 294 

(b) Primary Education 297 

(c) Secondary Education 300 

Branches of Primary Educa- 
tion 301 

a) Essential Studies 302 

b) General Schedule 326 

c) Optional Studies 331 



PAGE 

Branches of SecondaryjEduca- 
tion 336 

Branches of Miscellaneous Ed- 
ucation 344 

Special Professions in I^aw, 

Medicine, Etc 345 

Conclusion ^ 347 



3- 



5- 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE 



In presenting to the public "SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE," from 
the pen of Dr. Karl G. Maeser, we desire to do so with that 
same degree of modesty and true earnestness which has char- 
acterized the lite and teachings of this patriot educator; and, 
as the land is full ot witnesses, the product of his life's labor, 
no apology is necessary lor the appearance of this work, since 
the author has said: "I have only yielded to the numerous 
entreaties of my students and fellow teachers." 

"School and Fireside," which is needless to say, is from 
beginning to end, the pure style and idiom of the Author. A 
perusal of its pages will unfold the truly Maeseric forceful- 
ness which ever and always manifests itself through the 
Author's personality, his speeches, or his writings. 

The Publishers, in keeping with the Author's originality, 
have issued from their own press and bindery, this entire 
edition, which, even before its completion, has been almost 
entirely exhausted, and attests the great success which has 
attended their undertaking. 

The Portraits of the Ladies and Gentlemen, which em- 
bellish these pages, have a peculiar fitness and place in this 
work, and not unmindful ot the delicate task undertaken, the 
publishers regret that every pupil of this loved and vener- 
able teacher could not find a place in this volume, since 
many portraits arrived too late to be engraved and other 
worthy and prominent students being in remote parts of the 
world, rendered correspondence impracticable at the hour of 
selecting these worthy subjects to illustrate "School and 
Fireside." Yet the few whose portraits adorn these pages, 
are among the many who cherish fond memories of the guid- 



ing hand and master spirit which touched the keynote of 
their future and fanned the flame of honorable ambition, 
which has led them on to the sphere of true usefulness which 
they now enjoy. 

With the hope that all who read may duly appreciate the 
contents of the following pag^s and that they may assist in 
placing the School, the Fireside and the Teacher's profession 
upon a still higher plane, we subscribe ourselves, 

Sincerely, 

The Publishers. 




INTRODUCTION. 



The design of this work is not to add to the great number 
of valuable text-books already existing, but to plead for the 
cause of true education, the education of the whole man. 
Teachers and students, who are presumed to be devoted to 
this sacred cause without any urging on my part, will, I 
trust, welcome this book ot reference, while members of the 
home circle — those indispensable co-workers ol ours — will 
recognize in this endeavor to bring about a union ot the 
School and Fireside, a desire on my part to furnish informa- 
tion that shall make the efforts of both teachers and lay- 
members tend to one common end — the end looked forward 
to with unfaltering faith by our people. 

The Author. 



PREFACE, 



It is with reluctance that the author yields to the entreat- 
ies of his lellow teachers and students to publish this record 
of the Normal instructions given by him at the Brigham 
Young Academy, Provo, during the fifteen years from 1876 
to 1891. 

No attempt has been made to present startling ideas, or 
to urge radical changes in existing educational systems. The 
intention is rather to place on record the characteristic fea- 
tures of the Normal work done in the Brigham Young Acad- 
emy during that period. While no claim is made to striking 
originality, it is thought that these features are nevertheless 
sufficiently marked to distinguish them from the prevailing 
tendencies of the age. 

The author has availed himself of the best ideas of educat- 
ors, as far as they are in accord with the principles of moral 
and religious training, and has not been unmindful, on the 
other hand, of the achievement of science in the educational 
field. 

Special attention has been paid to the purposes, organiza- 
tions, and methods of our Church Schools, Mutual Improve- 
ment Associations, Sunday Schools and Primaries, as the 
corner-stones of our educational system. 

It will be observed that theological, scholastic, and 
domestic education are treated as inseparable. This thought 
underlies the work from beginning to end, hence its title, 
"School and Fireside." 

The Author. 



School and Fireside. 



HISTOI^Y OF EDU0ATION, 



A HISTORY of education, which, like a field of almost end- 
less perspective, stretches backward into ages of antiquity, 
and spreads around us in every direction of human thought 
and activity, requires the attention of an author for itself 
alone. Such special treatment is found in Compayre's 
"History of Pedagogy," Painter's "History of Education," 
and in other works of similiar purport. The chapters here 
devoted to the subject, aim only to give such an outline as 
shall make historical references in later parts of this work 
more intelligible. 

Education, in some shape or other, is as old as the human 
race, although there are no records in evidence of this fact 
outside of the results. Being an empirical science, education 
is the product of various ages and nations of the past, and 
may at the same time be regarded as the pledge of the civil- 
ization of the future. 

The history of education, as regards time, may be approp- 
riately divided into Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern, and 
as regards location into Oriental and Occidental. Each of 
these divisions is distinguished by its own peculiar character- 
istics. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 
CHAPTER I. 



Ancient 



With the dawn of history, nations of a comparatively 
high degree of civilization appear upon the scene, from which 
circumstance we may infer that a great deal of educating 
must have preceded it. Fragmentary evidences of this fact 
have come to us in works of architecture and art, and also 
by means of inscriptions, and astronomical and religious 
symbols. 

Among the nations of remote antiquity, the Semitic 
race, represented by the Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoeni- 
cians and Israelites, appears to have taken the foremost 
rank; however, the Egyptians, belonging to the race of Ham, 
did not fall far behind the foremost of them in most respects, 
and in some particulars they may be even said to have ex- 
celled. 

The first civilization of the world was ripe and bending 
beneath the sickle of time long before the days of Herodotus. 
Well organized political, social, and religious systems, and 
astonishing achievements in science and art, had long ago 
developed out of the patriarchal state of society. But the 
the successive steps by which this evolution had taken place 
from the limited circle of thought and occupation, afforded 
by primitive and agricultural pursuits, relieved occasionally 
by warlike or hunting expeditions, can only be guessed at, 
for it must have been a matter of conjecture, even to the 
"Father of History." But this much may be set down as 
certain: nations can not be made; they grow, and their 
political, social, moral, and intellectual conditions are the 
results of a great vaiiecy of causes, among which, consciously 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 3 

directed education, let it be what it may, is always one of 
the leading factors. 

I. THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS. 

These nations inhabited the countries drained by the 
Euphrates and Tigris. Already in prehistoric times, they 
had knitted together in mighty kingdoms, built cities, dug 
canals, reared palaces and temples of astonishing magnitude 
and splendor, and excelled in all kinds of workmanship in 
stone, wood, and metal. Their style of writing consisted in 
impressing cuneiform or wedge-shaped characters upon brick. 
Libraries were formed by piling these clay tables one upon 
another, and they circulated and were sent abroad precisely 
as we send letters. The walls of their public edifices were 
also covered with such writings. Keys to these inscriptions 
have been discovered by the persevering labors of Layard 
and Rawlins, and they are now being deciphered. The light 
thus thrown upon the histories of ancient peoples reveals, 
among many other interesting items, the fact that these 
people educated their children in reading and writing, and in 
obedience to the gods, to kings and to parents. 

2. THE PHCENICIANS. 

This nation inhabited the shores of the Mediterranean 
west of Palestine. They were the first sea-faring nation of 
whom we have any account. They traded with numerous 
nations and tribes along the coasts of the Mediterranean, and 
even ventured their frail crafts upon the broad Atlantic as 
far north as the British Isles and into the Baltic. Some 
writers believe that they even came to America. The in- 
vention of glass and of the alphabet is attributed to them. 
Their chief cities were Tyre and Sidon, and their most cele- 
brated colony was Carthage in Africa. Although possessed 
of much intelligence, shrewdness, and enterprise, with a great 
love for liberty and independence, for which traits they are 



4 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

to be admired, their religious ideas and rites were darkened 
by idolatry in its most hideous forms. To their national god, 
Moloch, they offered children, roasting them alive in the 
heated arms of the iron monster. What peculiar training in 
childhood must have been necessary to bring about such a 
perversion of all natural feeling in the hearts of a whole 
people! 

3. THE ISRAELITES. 
This peculiar people, notwithstanding many back slid- 
ings, has maintained its integrity through the multifarious 
vicissitudes of thousands of years, and stands among the 
nations a monument of the protecting arm of Providence. 
From the first they distinguished themselves for faith in the 
One Supreme Being, the Creator of the heavens and the 
earth, the God of the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
He was to them, not only the Creator of the world in general, 
but the God of the chosen people in particular. Their great 
law giver and prophet, Moses, kept this point constantly be- 
fore their eyes; and disobedience to the laws and command- 
ments of Jehovah, or unbelief, was to them not only a matter 
of apostacy, but a case of high treason to the nation, punish- 
able with death. Obedience to the laws of God, was thus 
made the leading feature in the education of their children. 
Although there were no public schools, unless the "schools 
of the children of the prophets" in the days of Samuel may 
be considered such, the education of the Israelitish children 
was not neglected, but received careful attention at the 
parental hearth. If this was, perhaps, insufificient in a schol- 
astic sense, it was the more ef^cient in another direction, 
namely, in the development of character. For whatever 
faults the Jews may have as a race, their character, collec- 
tively as well as individually, is strongly marked. 

4. THE ARYANS. 
The nations comprising this race inhabit most of the 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 5 

countries of Europe and extend from the Caucasus far into 
India. They are also sometin)es designated as the Indo- 
Germanic race. 

The foremost place among these peoples, in ancient times,^ 
was occupied by the Persians, who, under their great hero- 
king, Cyrus, emerged from comparative obscurity, into power 
and renown. These Persians were not idolaters, although 
they worshiped fire as the symbol oi the Godhead. Their 
religion was dualistic in its fundamental principle. They 
believed in Ormuzd, the god of Good, of Light, and of Life, 
and Ahriman, the god of Evil, of Darkness, and of Death. 
Zoroaster, their great teacher, lived about 6co years before 
Christ. His precepts are contained in the Zend-Avesta, 
which may be called the Persian Bible. This book is written 
in the Zend, their ancient language. In it may be found 
sentiments of sublime truth. 

The political institutions of the Persians present us with 
the first known instance of a constitutional monarchy. The 
king, absolute in many other respects, was bound by the 
irrevocable provisions of the "Law of the Medes and Per- 
sians." The Parsees of Bombay in India, are the sole rem- 
nant of the followers of Zoroaster. 

In very remote ages, a branch of the Aryans crossed the 
Indus, and settled in the mountainous regions of the Him- 
alayas and in the great plains of India as far as, and beyond, 
the Ganges. This people has since been known under the 
name of Hindoos. Fragments of their original language, the 
Sanscrit, still preserved, exhibit the peculiar fact that many 
words of modern European tongues can be traced to this 
source. 

The Hindoos gradually sank into a complex idolatry, the 
like of which can not be found in the history of mankind. 
Their chief godhead originally consisted of a kind of Trinity, 
called Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. This belief, however, 



6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

developed, in the course of ages, into the assumption of thou- 
sands and tens of thousands of gods. Underlying their 
mythological rubbish, however, are found many grand prin- 
ciples of ethics and religious feeling. They believe that their 
"head god, Brahma, at long intervals appears on earth in 
human form, to redeem mankind from their sins by h^ suffer- 
ing. These appearances are called "Incarnations of Brahma." 
Metempscychosis, or transmigration of souls, is another of 
their leading doctrines. The final end to be attained by the 
righteous is "Nirvana." This is a condition of absorption in 
the general godhead, a cessation of identity, a condition of 
absolute and eternal rest. The doctrines ot the so-called 
"Theosophists" ol our day resemble these abstractions very 
closely. 

Brahmaism has fostered for centuries the course of edu- 
cation in its own peculiar way. The Brahmins, as the dom- 
inent caste, among the Hindoos, have been not only the 
priests but also the educators of the people. Many of them 
have achieved renown in literature, science, and statesman- 
ship. Their influence in the domestic life of the Hindoos 
tended to purity, chastity, elevation and serenity. 

4. THE MONGOLIANS. 

This great race comprises the greater portion of the 
inhabitants of Asia north of the Himalayas, including China, 
Further India, and Japan. The nations comprising this race 
are characterized, notwithstanding their great geographical 
extension and diversity of climate, soil, and social conditions, 
by a homogeneity that no other race of the human family can 
claim. Their languages were all, originally, monosyllabic, 
and seem to have been derived from a common stock. Their 
religions are the outgrowth or mere varieties of Shamaism 
w thout much ethical foundation, in many instances. 

Centuries ago, Buddhism, a sort of a reformed branch 
of Brahmaism, found numerous followers in Thibet, China, 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 7 

Mongolia, and Japan. Their head priest, the Dahii Llama, 
resides at Llassa in Thibet, where divine honors are paid fro 
him. He is believed to be immortal, somewhat in the 
same sense in which the Pope of Rome is held to be infal- 
lible. There are other great similarities in the ceremonial 
of Buddhism and Catholicism. The Buddhist llamas and 
llamasseries parallel the Catholic monks and monasteries; 
rosaries are in use in both religions, and frecjuent repetitions 
of prayer formulas without mental activity. The promise of 
salvation by mere observance of outward ceremonies without 
the necessity of moral regeneration, is likewise characteristic 
of both. The llamas at Llassa, however, are distinguished 
by their great learning, and are said to have one of the 
largest libraries in the world. 

A peculiar feature of the inhabitants of the Himalayan 
countries is polyandry, which seems to have originated from 
the inability of the country to support a large population. 

The mightiest nation of the Mongolian race, until lately, 
has been the Chinese. The civilization of this strange 
people reaches back several thousand years. Their records 
demonstrate that they were familiar with mathematics and 
some of the sciences and arts, printing for instance, about 
2000 before our era. 

With a beginning so early in the history of mankind. 
the Chinese might have attained the foremost rank among 
the classic nations of antiquity, had it not been for an un- 
fortunate tendency to stereotype all conditions in social, 
political, and mental activity. In consequence of this, pro- 
gress and development became impossible, and a whole 
nation, richly endowed by nature with physical and mental 
powers, became stunted and dwarfed. 

The writing of the Chinese is ideographic, and consists 
of several thousand distinct characters. Yet notwithstanding 
this disadvantage, very few Chinamen, even among the 



8 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

lowest classes, can be found without the ability to read and 
vv^rite. 

The Chinese government, both social and political, is 
patriarchal. The Emperor, as the representative of the god- 
head, is the father of the people. Sins against the emperor 
or against a parent are punishable with death. The highest 
honors of the empire are open to the humblest student, if he 
can pass the requisite examinations. Under the fossilised 
conditions, however, all training consists merely in memor- 
izing. The principles of analytical education are unknown, 
and if known, would, it is safe to say, be discountenanced by 
the government as extremely dangerous. 

The works left by Confucius and other sages, are counted 
absolutely perfect. Logically, therefore, any deviation from 
these models must be crude in proportion to the wideness of 
the departure. As this principle governs all competitive 
examinations for social and political honors, it is easy to see 
how the nation, like a brigade of soldiers on parade, beats 
time, but does not advance. The late war between China 
and Japan (1894) was an issue between the old system and 
modern civilization. 

6. THE HAMITIC RACE. 

This great race, whose native home is the East and 
South of Africa, with some branches extending, anciently, 
into Palestine and Mesopotamia, has for ages been the 
servant and slave of the rest of mankind. The Egyptians 
form the only noteworthy exception, and even in their case, 
Ezekiel's prophecy has been fulfilled. There has been no 
more a prince of the house of Egypt since 340 B. C. This 
nation inhabited the Nile country from the mountains of 
Nubia down to the shores of the Mediterranean. Egyptian 
history loses itself in the mythological fancies of prehistoric 
times, but we find occasionally a more lucid explanation 






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SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 9 

through the translation of the hieroglyphics. The decendants 
of this mighty people are the Copts and Fellahin of today, 
mere shadov/s of the grandeur of their forefathers. 

Thuse ancient Egyptians, who possessed a high degree 
of civilization even in the days of Abraham and Melchisedek, 
as witnessed by the building of the great pyramid of Gizeh, 
claimed, for their higher castes, descent from the gods among 
whom the names of Adam, Noah, Shem, and Ham are easily 
recognized in their sacred writings. Moses derived his 
education from the Egyptian priesthood. The priests were 
the law givers, judges, physicians and teachers of the people. 
They cultivated a sacred and a common style of hieroglyphics. 
Great progress has been made in the deciphering and trans- 
lating of these picture-writings since the discovery of the 
"Rosetta Stone," which furnished the key to the sealed 
language. Hieroglyphics on stone and on rolls of papyrus 
are continually giving up their secrets. Among these are 
found medical prescriptions, contracts, receipts, bills of sale, 
letters from foreign potentates, prayers, moral and religi'ous 
dissertations, geographical and ethnographical items, astron- 
omical calculations, glorifications of kings, etc., all of which 
throws much light upon the political, social, moral, and religi- 
ous conditions of this ancient nation, testifies a comparatively 
high degree of civilization, and also exhibits that degree of 
immorality which is usually inseparable from idolatry. 

The Freemasonry of our day claims to have had its origin 
in the secret rites of the Egyptian priests. It is claimed by 
some modern Egyptologists, that, underlying all symbols of 
Egyptian idolatry, was the belief in One Supreme Being. 
This principle, however, was withheld from the common 
people for reasons of priestcraft. It is also maintained that 
the embalming of the dead, notwithstanding its superstitious 
accompaniments, had been originally adopted only for sani- 
tary reasons. 



lO SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

From the foregoing it may be inferred that education 
constituted a powerful factor in Eg3'ptian civilization. The 
unfortunate factor, however, of the educational system of 
the Egyptians, appears to have been the circumstance that 
its benefits were measured out, so to speak, according to the 
various grades of the priesthood and of the higher castes. 
To the common people, for reasons of priestcraft and despot- 
ism, were allotted only the crumbs that fell from their masters' 
tables. 

7. THE CLASSIC NATIONS. 

Except in the case of the Israelites, it has been unfor- 
tunate for the ancient nations of Asia and Egypt, that, until 
a comparative recent date, their whole history has come to 
us through their conquerors, the Greeks, whose literature 
constituted, formerly, the only guide in historical research. 
According to this source of information, those ancient nations 
appeared to us as mere "barbarians," while the Greeks and 
their pupils after them, the Romans, are styled "the classic 
nations." This partiality on the part of Greek and Roman 
historians, poets and philosophers is to some extent excus- 
able, when we notice a similar tendency in our day, among 
people not many thousand miles from us, in regard to foreign 
nations. Our own civilization is dominated by that of Greece 
and Rome, hence vv^e call them classic. But would it have 
been so, if Asiatic and Egyptian civilization could have trans- 
mitted to us their treasures of art and science.'* 

Exceedingly favorable geographical, climatic, and ethno- 
logical conditions combined to enable the various nations of 
Greece to reach, at an early age, a very high degree of civil- 
ization. While the diversity and grandeur of their mountain 
and marine scenery had a tendency to arouse the aesthetic 
feelings, a happy combination of the various dialects provided 
them with a language, which, in flexibility, euphony, and 
logical structure, is equalled by few. and excelled by none. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 1 

From the exploits of their gods and heroes, their poets 
created compositions of sublime beauty — creations that have 
remained models until this day. Their lawgivers formulated 
systems of government that raised the Greek nations to a 
hight of power, prosperity, and renown, entirely out of keep- 
ing with their geographical insignificance. Their artists 
produced works some of which, even in their present muti- 
lated condition, are recognized as ideals of beauty in sculpture 
and architecture. Their philosophers advanced theories that 
placed them among the foremost spirits of mankind. Their 
warriors knew how to die for their country, if need be, and 
their generals gained victories at tremendous odds. Their 
orators swayed multitudes by the power of their irresistible 
eloquence. Hitherto undreamed of were the perspectives of 
truth, in the educational field, which Socrates, with his clear 
dialectics, opened before his disciples. Plato developed the 
teachings of his great master into a system of speculative 
philosophy; and Pythagoras considered his discovery, that 
the square of the hypothenuse is equal to the sum of the 
squares of the other two sides of a triangle, sufficiently great 
to offer a hecatomb to the gods in gratitude; Euclid outlined 
the fundamental principles of mathematics; Herodotus earned 
the name of "Father of History," and the philosophical sys- 
tem of Aristotle held absolute sway for two thousand years, 
and was surpassed only by the reforming spirit of Bacon in 
the latter part of the i6th century. 

The term "Academy" originated in Athens, and was ap- 
plied to the groves where the great teachers were wont to 
converse with their disciples on principles of philosophy. 
Those philosophers were-divided into two parties, called the 
school of the Epicureans, and the school of the Stoics. These 
two schools correspond in some degree to the Sadducees and 
Pharisees among the Jews at the time of our Savior. 

Though far inferior in science and art to the Greeks, whose 



12 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

pupils they became in a certain sense, the Romans have, 
nevertheless, been most important factors in the formation 
of the political, the judicial, and even the religious life of the 
civilized nations of the earth. While in war, the Greeks, 
especially in the latter part of their history, achieved their 
victories by the superiority of the Macedonian phalanx, the 
Romans became conquerors of the world by the formation of 
the celebrated legions, and if the Greeks boasted of an Alex- 
ander, the Romans were not without a Csesar. 

But however great these men of war may have been, they 
are quite put into the shade, so far as shaping the destiny ot 
mankind is concerned, by the labors of men of peace like 
Cicero, the unparalleled "master of language"; like Seneca, 
the unfortunate tutor of Nero; like Horace, the great poet, 
peer of Homer, Milton, Dante, and Gcethe, and like Quin- 
tilian, the great teacher of rhetoric and elocution. 

The Greek term "pedagogue" was first applied by the 
Romans to slaves whose duty it was to take the boys to and 
from school. These schools were found in all cities and 
towns in Italy, and of the chief Roman provinces. They were 
conducted in most instances by Greeks, many of whom were 
slaves. The curriculum comprised mostly rhetoric, mathe- 
matics, elocution, medicine, and jurisprudence, for the more 
advanced pupils. The elementary branches of education 
were taught by any private individual thac could find suf^ci- 
ent patronage to justify him in taking up that labor. The 
state or municipal authorities took no official cognizance of 
educational institutions or efforts. Sons of the wealthier 
classes were either trained by private tutors, or repaired to 
some center of learning, where renowned teachers flourished, 
as for instance at Athens, Tarsus, Alexandria, Ephesus, and 
Ravenna. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 13 

CHAPTER II. 



Med^val. 



The chaos that ensued with the downfall of the Roman 
Empire threatened to destroy forever the fruits of the civil- 
ization of the past, and to throw mankind again into barbar- 
ism. An overruling Providence, however, had provided a 
remedy. 

I. MOHAMMEDAN EDUCATION. 

If God always remembered His chosen people, the house 
ot Jacob, He did not forget another branch of Abraham's 
seed, but sent also to the descendants of Ishmael a prophet, 
well adapted to the character of the roving tribes of that 
seed. Mohammed was the Moses of the Ishmaelites. Since 
time immemorial the Ishmaelitish tribes had looked upon the 
illimitable expanse of their sandy deserts as the land of their 
inheritance. Here they fought with one another in incessant 
tribal warfare; from here they undertook roving expeditions 
into neighboring countries; and here the dark clouds of idol- 
atry hovered over an otherwise sunny land. 

There arose, in the city of Mecca, at the beginning of the 
seventh century of our era, a man, claiming to be a prophet of 
the "Only One God," and with his revelations of the new 
faith, the Koran, in one hand and the sword in the other, he 
proclaimed his new gospel, the religion of "Islam," among 
the native tribes. After many vicissitudes, it was firmly 
established. Already during Mohammed's lifetime, it had 
spread over Arabia, Egypt, and Palestine, extending as far 
east as the Euphrates. Idolatry was exterminated with al- 
most savage ferocity wherever the green banner and halt 



14 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

moon of Islam was carried. To the Jews and the Christians, 
however, a great amount of tolerance was extended. 

Empires with new phases of civilization sprang into exist- 
ance under Mohammedan sway, and the Arabs, as the lead- 
ing spirits in the new faith, became the standard bearers of 
the civilization of the age. In Bagdad, the cit}/ of the caliphs, 
in Grenada, the city of Moorish kings, and from the Tajo to 
the Indus, from the Nile to the Danube, and from the Saraha 
to the desert of Gobi, it seemed as if the Genius of Mankind 
had spread his wings in the shadow of which flourished liter- 
ature, sciences, and art. 

The Mohammedan sage, Avicenna (Ibn Sina,) became the 
peer of Pythagoras. Jewish and Mohammedan doctors ot 
mathematics and medicine were found at the courts of Chris- 
tain princes. Moorish knights competed with Christian 
warriors in the glories of chivalry. The science of algebra 
is indebted for its very name to the Arabs, and astronomy 
has its maps covered with Arabic nomenclature, while 
alchemy, the mother of chemistry, was nursed in an Arabian 
cradle. The schools throughout the Mohammedan countries 
multiplied rapidly, and some of them became centers of 
learning of great renown. 

Unfortunately, the intellectual hegemony of the Moham- 
medan civilization did not continue. It seems as if the 
energies of Islam had spent themselves in their efforts in 
supplanting the gross superstitions and idolatry of heathen- 
ism, and the no less degraded image-worship of mediasvai 
Christendom, by a true faith in the living God. 

But the lack of the principle of progression in [slam could 
not be compensated by an enthusiasm reformatory only when 
brought in contact with inferior races. Accepting the Koran 
as the only standard of all truth, Islam was fated to engender 
a stereotyped condition of society like that of the Chinese, 
and was destined, therefore, to be overtaken in the great 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 15 

race of human advancement by nations following tb.e prompt- 
ings of eternal progression, and who thus are more entitled 
to the leadership among the nations of the earth. The 
protestant churches of our day, by trying to put a seal, as it 
were, upon revealation, are committing the same grave re- 
ligious errors, with reference to the Bible, that the Moham- 
medans did with reference to the Koran. Inconsistency in 
their own interpretations, and conflict with the researches ot 
scientific men, produce disintegration within and loss of pres- 
tige without. 

The Senusyia Brotherhood, a monastic order of Islam, 
scattered throughout North Africa from the Nile to the Niger, 
with headquarters at the oasis of Faredgha in the northern 
part of the Eastern Sahara, is reviving Mohammedan in- 
fluence and prestige to the great danger of European interests 
and human progress in those parts. 

2. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION. 

Chaotic Period. 

The chaos already alluded to as the result of the disinteg- 
ration of the Roman empire, was most pronounced among 
the nations of central, southern, and western Europe. The 
eastern half of the old Roman empire maintained in some 
degree a faint resemblance of its former political and intel- 
lectual prestige, until its final extinction by the Turks in 

1453- 

According to the assertion ot Evolutionists, the beginning 
of a period in the world's history is always in the middle ot 
the preceding one. It seems as if the Almighty acted upon 
this principle when He permitted the monasteries to develop 
out of that strange religious fanaticism, the order of hermits. 
Of all men, these recluses seemed likely to become factors in 
the cause of education. Monasteries were, like the oasis 
in the desert, of feudal strife and lawlessness. Here the 



1 6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

treasures of science, art literature, and history, that had been 
the glory of classic anticjuity, found an asylum in which ihey 
were preserved, copied, and studied. Here that strange 
contrivance, the palimsest, served its twofold capacity in the 
preservation of valuable manuscripts. 

The Catholic church was the great nurse of architecture, 
painting, music, and literature, but of science, in our sense 
of the term, there was none. What little culture there was 
outside of the church, was represented by the "Minstrels" of 
England and Germany, and the "Troubadours" of France 
and Italy. Even the few universities at Salamanca, Paris, 
Oxford, Prague, Bologna, and Upsala, v/ere under the abso- 
lute control and tuition of the church. It would be an act 
of gross ignorance and injustice to belittle the importance of 
the mission which the Catholic church so faithfully performed 
for humanity in these dark days, by extending to the rem- 
nants of a past civilization the protection and encouragement 
of the sanctuary. 

The Epoch of Charlemagne. 

Out of the general mediocrity of the times, arises in 
gigantic proportions the figure of the great emperor, Charle- 
magne. When he stepped upon the scene, he found a feeble 
kingdom, a contentious and arrogant nobility, an ignorant 
priesthood, and a half savage populace. During the forty- 
six years of his reign, he expanded his comparatively small 
Prankish kingdom to a mighty empire, extending from the 
Ebro in Spain to the Danube in Hungaria, and from the 
Mediterranean to the Baltic. He subdued kings and made 
the proud nobles subservient to his commands; built churches 
and monasteries where heathen idols had been worshiped 
before; founded schools, himself setting the example by 
learning to read and write; called learned men from other 
countries to his court; and bestowed great privileges upon 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 17 

cities to encourage commerce, industry, and the arts of 
peace. 

In the art of political government, he was equally saga- 
cious. He divided his vast empire into provinces, which in 
turn were subdivided into counties, wherein municipalities, 
and well organized civil authorities, nursed the germs of 
democratic self-government. Crude as were his forms of 
government, they were, nevertheless, the starting point for 
a systematic development of political, social, religious, and 
intellectual conditions, among which the cause of education 
also began to assume more definite shape. 

T/ie Ecclesiastical Period. 

Notwithstanding the repeated attempts of kings and em- 
perors to free themselves, not only from the restraining, but 
also from the domineering authority of the Roman Pontiff, 
and the spasmodic efforts of advanced spirits in religion and 
philosophy to free mankind from the thraldom of supersti- 
tion, the influence of the Roman hierarchy remained supreme 
So thoroughly did this power penetrate all classes of society 
and bind up all spheres of thought and action to its own in- 
terests, that Christain education served rather to enchain 
than to emancipate mankind during the ecclesiastical period 
of mediaeval times. 

The term education in this connection must be considered, 
therefore, with a great deal of caution, for, as compared with 
its present application, a semblance is scarcely recognizable. 
Although here and there were scholars considered great and 
renowned, yet so few were they in the aggregate that when 
the mediocrity of the age is taken into account, it is evident 
that a systematic plan for the general instruction of the 
masses was as yet an unknown quantity. 

At the few monasteries memorizing took the place of in- 
vestigation, and books were rare and costly. Latin was the 



1 8 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

only lan<^uage of scholastic pursuits. The professors were 
mostly of monastic orders. In philosophy, Aristotle, in 
astronomy, the Ptolemaic system were undisputed authorities, 
while in theolog-y, the legends of saints, the writings ot the 
"Fathers," and the decrees of church councils and Popes 
constituted the basis of preparation for degrees. 

Education of a lower grade was fostered in monasteries. 
Here lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic, such as it 
was, with instructions in the religious tenets of the age, were 
given mainly to the children of the wealthier parents. For 
the instruction of the poorer classes of society, nothing at all 
was done. Ignorance, squalor, and abject misery were con- 
sidered the natural attributes of the common people, who, 
moreover, had to be kept in subjection by the merciless 
application of cruel laws. The realm of science was reserved 
for the initiated few, and the ability to read and write placed 
a man far above the common people. 

The Period of the Reformation. 

Many important historical events combined to bring about 
that mighty deluge in Christian civilization, which is gener- 
ally designated as the Reformation. To look upon this 
prodigious event in the world's history as a mere religious 
movement, would be to misconceive its causes, its nature, 
and its consequences. The term "Reformation," is in many 
respects a misnomer. This movement was to all intents and 
purposes an ecclesiastical, a political, a social, and, at least 
as far as Germany is concerned, a linguistic revolution. The 
great historical principle underlying the Reformation, was 
the assertion of the right of individual investigation as against 
the dictum of authority — the authority of the Catholic church. 
Literature, the sciences, the arts, as well as all diplomatic 
movements of the secular powers, were either controlled by 
this hierarchy or were in absolute servitude to it. Sporadic 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 9 

attempts at emancipation had been made at divers places and 
times. By a combination of favorable antecedents, the way had 
thus been cleared for the struggle. The successful blow was 
struck. The obstacles to progress were ruthlessly thrust 
aside, and mankind began to march toward those altitudes of 
spiritual, mental, and moral development, where man can 
again commune with Jehovah as Moses did on Mount Sinai. 

The invention of gunpowder had destroyed feudalism, and 
made room for communities of industrious and intelligent 
citizens; the printing press had supplanted the tedious, un- 
reliable, and expensive copying process, so that the means 
of learning could be brought within the reach of the multi- 
tude; the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, had led Jewish 
scholars to introduce Hebrew into the universities of Central 
Europe; and the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, 
scattered Greek professors throughout the Christian countries 
of the West, so that the original languages of the Old and 
New Testament became accessible to students; the replacing 
of the Ptolemaic by the Copernican system in astronomy, 
and the discovery of America shook the popular belief in the 
infallibility of the popes, to the very foundation. 

There was now needed on the one hand, a leader of intrep- 
id character, of sterling integrity, God-fearing, and of 
sufficient intelligence to free himself from the prejudices of 
the age; and on the other hand, a certain degree of stupid 
ignorance on the part of the masses, which should prevent 
the dominant party from comprehending the question of the 
hour. Such a condition of things was presented by Luther 
and his contemporaries. It may be interesting to add, that 
the same historical process was repeated at the uprising of 
the American colonies against the short-sighted policy of 
Great Britain, nearly three hundred years later. 

Up to the time of the Reformation, music and architecture, 
among the arts, had enjoyed the exclusive protection and 



20 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

favors of the church. The latter had attained, especially in 
the Gothic and Norman Styles, almost classic distinction. 

The name of the great reformer, Martin Luther, will stand 
forever on the pages of history as an instrument of Provi- 
dence in ushering in a new epoch in the sphere of thought. 
Passing by his reformatory labors in matters ecclesiastical, 
which have proved in many respects beneficial as well to the 
Catholic as to the Protestant world, we shall refer here merely 
to his influence upon educational interests. 

By chosing the Upper Saxon dialect for his translation of 
the Bible and for his poetical and prose writings, he laid the 
foundation for the classic German of our day. By compos- 
ing chorals for congregational singing in churches, he created 
that distinction between Catholic and Protestant sacred 
music, which a modern critic describes in the following lan- 
guage: "While Catholic choir music descends like angels' 
song from On High, the Protestant congregational singing 
ascends On High like the prayer of supplicating humanity." 
By publishing catechisms to assist in the teaching of religion, 
Luther established catechization in schools. By converting 
monasteries, which were now, through change in public 
sentiment, rendered worse than useless, into schools for the 
common people, he inaugurated the public school system, a 
system that is destined to become one of the most potent 
factors in the development of the human race. By making 
the Bible the constitution of the Christian church, so to speak, 
and placing it above the arbitrary teachings of Popery, he 
gave the keynote to analytical investigation, and thereby 
ushered in a new era in religious thought. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 2 I 

CHAPTER III. 



Modern. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

The leading characteristics of God's Providence in bring- 
ing about the good of mankind, seem to be: small begin- 
nings, slow developments, but unswerving purposes. The 
greatest work ever done — the redemption of the human 
race — had its starting point in a manger. What wonder, 
then, that the beginning of a new era in education, the benefits 
of which are today shared by all the civilized nations of the 
earth, in general, and by almost every fireside, in particular, 
can be traced to the simple act of a monk, nailing on a church 
door some theses against the sale of indulgences. 

The touch of a button by the hand of a child has sent an 
electric current to mines of powder, blasting into fragments 
gigantic rocks at the bottom of the sea. With such unpre- 
cedented velocity went the news of Luther's protestation, 
throughout the nations of P^urope, here kindling the hatred 
of supporters of the old ways, and there arousing to activity 
the self reliant spirits of the age. 

Then followed the persecutions and counter-persecutions 
in England, the Inquisition in Spain, the horrors of St. 
Bartholomew in France, and the Thirty Years' War in Ger- 
many. But God was with the Reformation and it could not 
fail. Both sides of the controversy were aroused to great 
mental activity which was turned to account upon the 
schools. 

At one and the same time, Zwingli in Zurich, Calvin in 
Geneva, and the Jesuites in Germany and France, the two 



2 2 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

former in Protestant, and the latter in Catholic interests, 
distinguished themselves by their efforts for the education of 
the people. 

In the realms of literature, England basked at that time in 
the splendor of the "Elizabethian Age," with Shakespeare as 
the central sun, while in the Netherlands, Erasmus, and in 
Germany, Reuchlin, founded schools for the study of Greek. 
In Italy, Torquato Tasso stood forth as the creator of the 
grand epic, "Jerusalem Delivered." In this same country 
arose Galileo, who, by his invention of the telescope and by 
other discoveries, gave a new impetus to scientific research. 
In Germany, the great Kepler made himself immortal by the 
discovery of the laws of planetary motion. Bacon, in Eng- 
land, exposed by his wonderful reasonings, the fallacies of 
the Aristotelian philosophy, and later on, Isaac Newton 
demonstrated the laws of gravitation. The philosophical 
labors of Locke in England, Leibnitz in Germany, and Des- 
cartes in France, contributed valuable material to the cause 
of education. 

While it cannot be denied that since the Reformation, the 
Catholic church, with the Pontifical office at Rome, has 
undergone a remarkable change for the better, the Protes- 
tant churches, on the other hand, have lost themselves in 
polemics about trivialities, neglecting to feed the souls of 
men with nourishing spiritual food. The consequence of this 
mistake was the rising up of a John Wesley in England, and 
ot a Spencer and a Franke in Germany, who insisted by pre- 
cept and example upon the teaching and exercise of a prac- 
tical Christianity. 

2, THE PIETISTIC SCHOOL. 

This school arose as the result of the teachings of the men 
just spoken of, and was the first endeavor toward the estab- 
lishment of a systematic education. The fundamental prin- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 23 

ciple of this system was that a deep relif^ious conviction 
should be carried into all relationships of practical life. 
Among Protestants, the Puritans of P^ngland and America, 
and the Pietists of Germany, and among Catholics, the Jan- 
senists of France and Holland, are types of this school. 

If their protest against the Pharisaism of the clergy and 
against the profligacy of the kings and nobles of that time, 
had not carried them to the other extreme, and caused them 
to revive the errors of the Stoic philosophy, the Pietistic 
schools might have been the means of inaugurating a system, 
which, while free from the disintegrating tendencies of infi- 
delity, might still have enabled the student to applj' the 
principle of anal}"tical investigation to every branch of study, 
without danger of losing faith in God and religion. 

The Pietists had influenced education to such an extent as 
to more than counterbalance their stern dogmatism and 
gradually increasing pedantry, by the benefits naturally flow- 
ing from their fundamental principles. Established form- 
ulas in teaching, and cast-iron rules in discipline, regardless 
of conditions and environments, prevented the free develop- 
ment of mental capacities and individual characteriscics, 
making the system a facile tool in the hands of the dominant 
powers of church and state. 

3. THE PHILANTHROPIC SCHOOL. 

All violations of the laws of truth, whether in the physical 
or the mental life of man, produce a reaction. The errors of 
the Pietistic school created in the souls of philosophers, 
educators, and philanthropists, a more tender regard for the 
feelings, capacities, and characteristics of pupils. This re- 
action of sentiment found its first exponent in Leibnitz, 
(1646-1716,) a philosopher of Germany, best known to the 
world by his discovery of the differential calculus. His assid- 
uous cultivation of the field of analytical investigation led to 



24 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

results directly opposed to empiricism and memory cram- 
ming. His English cotemporary, Locke, (1638-1704,) by 
his famous "Essay on Human Understanding", furnished 
educators a guide through the intricacies of mental develop- 
ment. The precious ore of advanced thought brought from 
the inexhaustible mine of truth by these two philosophers, 
was turned to account for the cause of education by Jean 
Jacques Rousseau, (France. 1712-1778). His epoch-making 
work, "Emile," was called by Goethe "Nature's gospel of 
education." Unfortunately the visionary and impractical 
tendencies of the work caused the first attempt at philan- 
thropic education to prove a failure. 

Nearer to the mark came the educational efforts of Johann 
Bernhard Basedow, (Germany, 1 723-1 790). This educator 
laid the foundation of sound elementary instruction by the 
publication of his celebrated "Elementarwerk," which, in a 
short time, became the prototype of all text books through- 
out Germany. He urged kindness, persuasion, and consid- 
eration of the feelings and characteristics of the pupils, and 
supplanted compulsory by emulative methods of discipline. 
Hence the designation of this method as the "Philanthropic 
School." It was, however, the misfortune of Basedow, to 
ruin his reputation, and ihat of his system, by his loose 
personal habits and by his utter inability to put his splendid 
theories into practice. 

Basedow was followed by Campe (Brunswick, 1747-18 18,) 
who by the publication of his "Robinson the Younger," an 
imitation of "Robinson Crusoe," opened the wide and useful 
field of juvenile literature, notwithstanding the fact, that the 
incidents related in the work are based upon a psychological 
impossibility. 

About the same time, two educators in England, Bell and 
Lancaster, conceived the idea of furnishing a kind of whole- 
sale instruction for children working in factories. They in- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 25 

troduced the so-called "Monitorial System," by using ad- 
vanced pupils as monitors of certain sections of the school. 
The work was similar and simultaneous in all sections, and 
the whole school was under the supervision of a single teacher. 
To facilitate this supervision, the seats were arranged in 
amphitheatrical form with the teacher's desk at the focus of 
the converging aisles. 

This plan worked fairly well and might be called good for 
lack of a better one to take its place. It will be observed 
th.i.t the development of individuality cut no figure in this 
system. The obtaining of a certain degree of efficiency in 
reading, writing, and arithmetic, was the sole object. 

4. THE ECLECTIC SCHOOL. 

Special institutions for the education of such unfortunates 
as suffered under physical, mental, or moral defects, were 
left as a beautiful legacy to our times by the Philanthropic 
School. The glorious invention of a sign language for the 
instruction ot deaf mutes, by Abbe Siccard, of France, the 
instruction of the blind by prints in bass relief to be read by 
the touch of the fingers; the so-called Swedish system for 
crippled and deformed children; improved methods in treat- 
ing the insane and feeble-minded; and the establishment of 
reform schools for the depraved — all these features gave 
evidence, not only that previous efforts had been fruitful, but 
that education had arrived at a higher plane and was claim- 
ing, as legitimate fields of operation, spheres that formerly 
had been considered foreign to it. 

While secondary institutions had enjoyed more or less the 
fostering care of governments and rulers for centuries, the 
primary school had hitherto been treated as a wild flower, so 
to speak, left to bloom wherever it could get a chance. 
By this time, however, it had unmistakably demonstrated 
its usefulness; and its relation to the constantly increasing 



26 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

complexity of social and political life, had made it a necessity 
too urgent, for legislation to ignore it longer. Hence early 
in this century, many governments began taking cognizance 
of it as a vital factor in a nation's progress and prosperity. 
All this IS history. The primary school is now a part of the 
nineteenth century civilization. So vigorous is its vitality, 
that it is reacting upon and greatly modifying higher instruc- 
tion. 

Secondary education, in order to keep pace with the 
changed conditions, is endeavoring to get out of the grooves 
of the old Humanistic school, and to reduce the studies in 
Greek and Latin, formerly so predominant, to more reason- 
able limits, thereby giving greater prominence in the curric- 
ulum to the natural, physical, and mental sciences. 

5. EPOCH OF PESTALOZZI. 

While in former educational periods, comparatively few 
men stood out as pioneers in the educational progress of 
humanity, in these latter times, the names of prominent 
educators are legion. The apostle of the present education- 
al dispensation is Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, (Zurich, 1746- 
1827). In seeking the reason for the prominence accorded 
this humble and unpretentious teacher, we select only a few 
items from his long career of usefulness. He discovered the 
mainspring of all successful instruction, viz: object-lesson 
teaching. By discarding text books, with their theoretical 
principles and abstract rules, and basing his instructions upon 
objects within reach of his pupils, he brought his school into 
communion with the realities of life. In his celebrated work, 
"Leonard and Gertrude," he demonstrated the inseparable 
connection between scholastic and domestic education. By 
his loving and fatherly ways, he won the affection of his 
pupils, and by the purity and gentleness of his life, he raised 
up before them the authority of a worthy example. 




^ 







1 "bh 



.-:v«'.,« ■ ."} ;>r;r.;..- xx--. -.iS-mn-- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 27 

Like Socrates, Pestalozzi had many followers, that devel- 
oped his ideas into various systems, which are today form- 
ing their part in the further development of theoretical and 
practical education. Foremost among these followers was 
Friedrick Froebel, of Marienthal, Germany, (1782-1852). 
He is the founder of the "Kindergarten." By this system, 
was introduced systematic training (based upon the principle 
of the object-lesson) into the child-world, where mothers and 
teachers meet upon a common ground and thus become mutu- 
ally benefitted, 

6. PERIOD OF STRUGGLE BETWEEN CHURCH AND SCHOOL. 

Since the dawn of the educational era in mediseval times, 
the church had held undisputed sway in matters educational, 
and had exercised an unrelenting censorship. Anything an- 
tagonistic to her interest was persecuted with the utmost 
severity. This was realized by Spinoza among the Jews, by 
Hugo among the Catholics, and by Servetus among the 
Protestants. But the struggle continued. Education was 
gradually developing into an empirical science with a legiti- 
mate sphere of its own. On the other hand, the church 
maintained a dogmatic inflexibility that was destined to come 
more and more in conflict with the increasing enlightenment 
of the age. 

While this tendency of the church was sustained almost 
unanimously by the governments of Europe and the early 
American colonies, and held to be indispensible to the safety 
of the state and church, it was denounced as reactionary by 
the progressive elements ot society. Many of the latter, 
however, went to the other extreme and advocated the abso- 
lute exclusion of religious influence and instruction from the 
public schools. "Les extremes se touchent," (extremes 
meet,) says a French proverb. This is true in the present 
instance. These extremes could but lead to the same result 



28 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

among the masses, viz: infidelity, or its modined form, 
agnosticism. 

To counteract tendencies so fatal to spiritual development, 
many churches, in countries where a separation of church 
and school has been effected, have adopted the system of 
Sunday schools, or are conducting denominational schools at 
their own expense. The organizations are expediencies and 
are subject to a variety of contingencies, but may contain, 
nevertheless, within them the final solution of this important 
problem. 

7. THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION. 

The general tendenc}' to disintegration in the political, 
social, scientific, and religious systems of our day, is a phe- 
nomenon too plainly visible not to attract the serious at- 
tention of the educator. His mission brings him in contact 
with all these relationships of real life, and a comprehension 
of all vital questions of the age is an indispensible requisite 
for the successful performance of his duties. 

A German philosopher of the m.odern school defined man 
as an "Ursachenthier," that is an animal distinguished from 
the other species of the animal kingdom, by a desire to find 
the cause of everything. It is not to be wondered at, that 
a mind incapable of rising above such a conception of the 
life divine, should search among things earthly for arguments 
to support his materialistic hypothesis. 

By observing the unalterable laws governing cause and 
effect, whether looked at from an a priori or an a posteriori 
point of view, philosophers of this school consider evolution 
the great first cause of everything, the principle underlying 
all physical and mental activity. 

Among the constantly increasing host of Evolutionists, the 
names of some are of international reputation. The influence 
of their teachings is felt in the highest institutions of learn- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 29 

ing, and thence also in our common schools, reaching even 
into the family circles of Christian countries. 

Foremost among such thinkers stands John Stuart Mill, 
(England, 1 806-1873). In his "Essay on Human Liberty," 
he enunciated principles adverse to our ideas of democratic 
government, and advocated a construction of the social fabric 
which Karl Gutzkow in his "Ritter vom Geiste" would desig- 
nate as an Aristocracy of Intelligence. In his system of 
"Logic, Ratiocinative, and Inductive." he denies the pre- 
existence of truth, affirming that all knowledge is a mere 
generalization from observations of phenomena, thereby 
making sensation its only source, and giving the inductive 
process an undue pre-eminence. According to his theory 
of non-existence of absolute truth, scientific certainty would 
become only relativ^e, religion empirical, virtue a mere utili- 
tarian arrangement, and the operations of a creating and 
directing Divine Mind a superfluity. The educator in vain 
scans this philosophy for a starting point and an ultimate 
aim to assist him in arranging the spirit and methods of his 
teaching. He weighs it in the balance and finds it wanting. 

Mill's philosophy was superceded by that of Herbert 
Spencer. This great thinker was born in England 1820. He 
is the peer of Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Newton, Leibnitz, and 
Kant, and has attained his prominence in the philosophical 
world of our day by his clear dialectics, courageous positive- 
ness, untiring research, and extensive knowledge. 

The proposition that material evolution is the process 
underlying all phenomena in the physical and mental world, 
and must henceforth constitute the basis of all philosophy, 
places Spencer in direct opposition to revealed religion. In 
his works on sociology and biology he maintained with un- 
swerving consistency that course of reasoning which must 
lead eventually to infidelity and atheism. His philosophy 
has more positive substance than that of Goethe's Mephis- 



30 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

topheles, who introduces himself to Faust with the words: 
*'I am the spirit thac always denies," but Spencer's "Infinite 
and Eternal Energy," is too nearly akin to this negative 
philosophy, too nearly like pure agnosticism, as far as the 
fundamental principles of revealed religion are concerned, to 
furnish man even a poor substitute for the "childlike faith" 
which the divine Nazarene enjoined upon his followers, 

Spencer has written several monograms on educational 
subjects, chief among which is a formal treatise on "Educa- 
tion: Intellectual, Moral, and Physical." For keen analysis, 
and logical arrangement, this work is not behind his best, 
and generally speaking, the facts he presents are facts worthy 
of consideration. But the student will do well to remember, 
that this work is one of the mosaics in his materialistic phil- 
osophy, and also keep in mind the general truth, that facts 
support indifferently now this theory and now that, accord- 
ing to the manner in which they are arranged. 

Darwin, Huxley, and Tyndall, of England, Moleschott and 
Carl Voight, of Germany, and Robert Ingersoll, of America, 
are other, more or less widely acknowledged representatives 
of the theory of evolution. Some of these have attained 
their prominence by their eloquence, and others by their 
valuable contributions to science, literature, and education. 
As a result of the teachi-ngs of these scientists and their co- 
workers, our universities and high schools have become fruit- 
ful fields for the spread of this new theory, and teachers of 
the lower grades are looking to its banner as to the only 
standard of truth. Even in theological circles the disinte- 
grating tendencies of evolution are becoming more and more 
visible. 

On the other hand, many observing minds of our day, 
terrified at the drift of things, are seeking a harbor of refuge. 
Permanency of organization, stability of principles, and sat- 
isfaction to the deeper feelings of mankind, are conditions 



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that begin to attract. AH these the Catholic church promises 
to supply. She quite comprehends the situation, and, aside 
from any other inducements, is making- unprecedented efforts 
in advanced education. The stand taken by the Catholic 
church in this regard is judicious and consistent with her 
whole spirit and dogma. 

But true education must not be influenced by the tenden- 
cies ot these opposite currents of thought. It must resist 
the materialistic philosophy of evolution on the one hand, 
and the reactionary theology of Catholicism on the other. 
Standing thus unshaken upon the rock of continuous revela- 
tion, a light-house to the world, it will gradually develop a 
system calculated to prepare the rising generation for the 
blessings of the time that the angels foretold in their song at 
Bethlehem. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Difference Between Oriental and Occiden- 
tal Education. 



Education is the product of the past, the indicator of 
the present, and the precursor of the future civilization of the 
people. It never acts independently of the spirit of the age, 
nor of the character of the people. Its influence and success, 
therefore, are in proportion to its conformity with environ- 
ments. Upon these fundamental principles rests the wide 
difference between Oriental and Occidental education. 

The original conception of state and society in the mind 
of an Oriental is patriarchal. The individual is only part of 



32 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

a whole in his mind. This conception has the advantage of 
cultivating veneration, obedience, and fidelity, but it has the 
disadvantage of having these virtues easily converted into 
servility and other attending evils. Then, too, an education 
based upon such a principle excludes the possibility of mental, 
social, and political progress. 

Syria, Persia, India, China, and even Tartary and Mongo- 
lia have occasionally produced great minds in science, litera- 
ture, and the arts; but their wisdom and learning have 
illuminated their fellow beings only for a season. Then all 
this has quite dissappeared again, save as it is quoted in after 
times by way of reminiscence or veneration. No disciple or 
follower took up their ideas and developed them into a pro- 
gressive system. Their teaching became stakes on which to 
impale the human mind, rather than mile posts pointing the 
way to further progress. The Oriental races were the first 
teachers of mankind, but they have been surpassed by their 
Occidental pupils, the Aryans of Europe and America. 

The fundamental principle of Occidental education, is the 
development of individuality. Therein lies the secret of its 
unprecedented success. All Occidental nations that have 
grasped this educational idea, are, to a greater or less extent, 
at the present day the leading nations of the earth in politics, 
commerce, industry, art, and learning. 

According to this principle individuals are not made for 
the state, but the state for the individuals. It contemplates 
the cultivation of men's physical, mental, moral, and spirit- 
ual nature to its highest possible degree, It endeavors to 
qualify him morally for the duties and responsibilities for 
family life, and to prepare him for membership in society, 
and citizenship in the state, by training him in the exercise 
of public spirit. 

Great as the progress of education has been, especially 
since the middle of the present century, there are many 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 33 

questions awaiting an answer, many problems a solution, 
many conflicting issues an adjustment. 

As the Church of Jesus Christ ol Latter Day Saints, like 
Joseph cast out by his brethren, has before her a great social 
and religious mission, so it may not be presumptuous to 
expect, that in the cause of education the world will also be 
indebted to her for advancing it further on toward the re- 
demption of mankind from prejudice, ignorance, and sin. 



AIMS OF EDU0ATION, 



CHAPTER I. 



Definition 



Education as applied exclusively to scholastic studies is 
exceedingly narrow and incomplete. All efforts, more or 
less systematic, that aim to the development of the physical, 
mental, moral, or spiritual nature of man, should be embraced 
in this term. The term, Education, as used in this work, is 
a twofold process, (i) on conve5nng instruction on its theo- 
retical, and (2) of training in habits on its practical side. 
These parts of education are inse[jarable, and are so inter- 
woven as to make even the partial neglect of one reflect in- 
juriously upon the other. 



CHAPTER n. 



In Regard to the Objects to be Obtained. 



Labor without an object in view is mere "killing time". 
Life without an aim. is a failure from the start. Any system 
without a purpose — if system it may be called — lacks the 
most essential element of vitality. Now, whatever may be 
said as to the apparently insignificant initiatory stages of the 
educational system of the Latter-day Saints, it has had pur- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 35 

poses of the most definite character from the beginning. In 
so far, therefore, as clefiniteness of purpose insures success, 
so far its inauguration points 10 the ultimate attainment of 
ends, some of which, in the opinion of its founders, have 
been either insufficiently recognized, or entirely neglected 
by other S3'stems. 

PREPARATION FOR THE REQUIREMENTS OF PRACTICAL LIFE. 

"Three score and ten, and when it comes high it is eighty," 
says an ancient sage concerning the length of the life of man. 
Of this the greater part of the first decade is spent in irres- 
ponsible infancy, and educators themselves are not all past 
regarding the second ten years as the main educational 
season of human life. The gradual expansion of the educa- 
tional horizon, however, is now causing the light to reach 
the very confines of infancy on the one side, and to illumin- 
ate the silvery altitudes of venerable age on the other. Kin- 
dergartens, the outposts of more pretentious education, greet 
the infant at the morn of his life, and a praiseworthy exam- 
ple is left for the emulation of mankind as evidence that the 
aged man is still learning when the evening shadows are 
closing around him. While the infant begins, it is the sage 
only that never ceases to learn. 

For Membership in the Hnviaji Family. 

When should education begin.? This frequently pro- 
pounded question finds its complete answer in the psycho- 
logical fact, that the dispositions and capacities of a child 
are the result of a combination of agencies that may reach 
back into generations of antiquity; just as your peculiar traits 
and mine may be transmitted to our posterity for genera- 
tions to come. Such a condition implies an ever-continuing 
responsibility to posterity. This far-reaching physical, 
mental, and moral responsibility on the part of the race con- 
stitutes one of the fundamental principles of ethics, perhaps 



36 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

the most essential one from which the educator must take 
his orientation. 

If it must be remembered that man is a gregarious being, 
then he must have human society in order that his God-like 
attributes may be developed. The story of Robinson Crusoe 
rests upon a fallacious psychological proposition. Any man 
placed under such conditions, would become through mere 
inanition either an imbecile or a maniac, the animal in- 
stincts of self-preservation only surviving. 

This indispensible relationship between man and man, is 
the great incentive to progress, and becomes beneficial in 
proportion as the benefits received and the responsibilities 
incurred, are equally distributed. Wherever this adju.stment 
is unequal, human progress is obstructed and education in 
its broadest application finds itself curtailed in its opera- 
tions. 

"Love thy neighbor as thyself," is the injunction of the 
greatest Teacher the world has ever been blessed with. Self- 
ishness is the antipode of this maxim. The savage is selfish. 
Out of savagery many stages and phases of civilization have 
been evolved, as one by one the selfish instincts of the indi- 
vidual have given way for the higher interests of society. 
The infant manifests strongly the trait of selfishness, hence 
a popular educator asserts that the child is a natural born 
savage. It should be the purpose of education to lop off 
selfish inclinations, and engraft in their place, self-denial, 
self-control, obedience, love, charity, integrity, gratitude, 
diligence, and kindred virtues. 

The educator has to impress upon the minds of his pupils 
the fact that no one can be happy unless he is virtuous; that 
no one is entitled to better treatment than he is willing to 
extend to others; and finally, that no one can fully under- 
stand the principle of the universal brotherhood of man, un- 
til he realizes that the love for his fellow-men, which Christ 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 37 

enjoins upon his followers, is but the reflex of the love of 
God towards us, even as the light of the moon is but a re- 
flection of the sun. 

Fo)^ CitiaoisJiip. 

A true home and a good school are nurseries of patriotism. 
Great men have good mothers. Cornelia, the mother of the 
Gracchi, considered her two boys her greatest jewels, and a 
Spartan mother gave to her son, as he departed for the war, 
a shield with the legend: "Either with it or upon it." The 
fireside is one's native land in embryo. Every family circle 
owes the sacred duty of planting in the minds and hearts of 
its growing members, enthusiasm for their country, love for 
its history and its flag, obedience to its laws, and reverence 
for its institutions. In America the lack of reverer.ce for 
parents and for the aged is a dangerous symptom, and if not 
remedied, forebodes no good for the country. Figs and 
grapes cannot be gathered from thorns and thistles. 

Schools of every grade should supply this deficiency by 
emphasizing morals and manners and by giving pupils prac- 
tice in the exercise of public spirit. The creation of offices 
to give the pupils opportunities of becoming responsible for 
things beyond their own individual concerns, tends to draw 
out their minds toward the comfort and benefit of their fellow 
beings. This, the so called "Monitorial System," trains 
pupils for trustworthiness in public affairs. By discarding 
mere dictatorial methods in discipline and by adopting in- 
stead judiciously applied principles of democracy, self-reliant 
and intelligent citizens may be educated. The prevailing 
system of feverish competition in our public school, empha- 
sizing, as it does, intellectual advancement to the almost 
entire neglect of every other requirement, engenders a spirit 
of selfish ambition, an evil that sadly mars the characters of 
many of our most prominent public men today. 



38 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

For Occupations. 

The Creator has desig-ned for every human being a certain 
work to perforai and a distinct place to occup)'. For this 
mission He endowed him with special capacities and sur- 
rounded hinj with certain environments, but granting" him 
his free agency. This mission was given to him not on the 
basis of the stern doctrine of predestination, as accepted by 
the Calvinists, or on the principle of inexhorable fate as be- 
lieved by the Mohammedans, but as the result of the known 
mental, moral, and spiritual acquirements of the first estate 
or "primeval childl'iood". No man can go beyond this wise 
and judicious measure of his possibilities of growth, but may 
fall far short of it. 

It is a portion of the heaven-appointed duties of parents 
and teachers to discover these natural capacities and inclina- 
tions of their charges, for these capacities point out, as a rule, 
the line along which the most successful career in life may 
be followed. Although financial conditions, vanity, ignor- 
ance, prejudices, and many other influences may prevent the 
choice of the course most suitable and even cause the adop- 
tion of a vocation ill-adapted to the best good of the pupil, 
3^et, so flexible is human nature that perseverance, diligence, 
and above all, a living faith in the guiding hand of Provi- 
dence, may not only prevent a total failure of life, but even 
lead to ultimate success, and this too in the face of the most 
adverse circumstances. 

Our common school system embraces chiefly such branches 
of general instruction as are more or less indispensible in 
every vocation of life, v/hile secondary education aims at 
preparation and proficiency in studies adapted to the pursuit 
of particular professions. In both of these grades, num.erous 
opportunities present themselves for ascertaining the adapt- 
ability of the student for prospective work in life, and he 
should be advised accordingly. 



SCHOOL AND FIE E SIDE 39 

The improvenients in the educational s}'steins of our day 
are many and in some instances of great value. If, however, 
the old-fashioned curriculum of the so-called three "R's" 
with some theoretical grammar studies throv/n in has been 
superceded by practical object teaching, and more logical 
and analytical methods, there is manifesting itself on the 
other hand, a growing tendency toward a complexity of 
studies, wliich must either overtax the juvenile capacities, 
both physical and mental, or create a superficiality that in- 
capacitates the mind for continued concentration of thought, 
create a distaste for solid work, and engenders that self-con- 
ceit which is spreading so alarmingly among our half-educa- 
ted youth. 

Results ot this artificial hothouse education can be seen m 
the growing dislike for mechanical and agricultural pursuits 
among our young men and for domestic accomplishments 
among our young ladies. The so-called learned professions, 
commercial occupations, and public offices, are given prefer- 
ence over occupations of the producit^.g order. While the 
former are becoming m.ore and more overcrowded to their 
own detriment, as well as to that of their occupants, the 
latter have to be recruited in this country, largely by for- 
eigners. 

AH this is an unhealthy condition of affairs. The fireside 
and schools will have to use their efforts to counteract this 
tendenc}- by paying more attention to practical training; or 
else this nation, vvhich has passed the first century of its in- 
dependence with such glorious prospects, will decay pre- 
maturely and be overtaken, in the long run, by others that 
have develc^ped along safer lines. 

Efforts to make instruction in mechanical and domestic 
work a part of the regular curriculum in common schools 
have been very successful in many instances and deserve 
such encouragement as will gradually niake them one of the 



40 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

essential features of education. As the principle of "self- 
help" constitutes one of the mainsprings of prosperity, it 
should be recognized as a strong feature in all scholastic and 
domestic education. 

Fo?^ Family Life. 

"Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, that thy 
days may be long upon the earth." This divine injunction 
contains the foundation of all domestic happiness. From it 
ramify all the other duties of the home circle, with all their 
blessings and affections. A bad son gives no promise of ever 
becoming a good husband and father, and I have never seen 
a girl that lacked in kindness to her mother, make a good 
wife. 

Every child on entering school for the first time has had a 
great deal of education already, good or bad, as the case may 
be. Whatever there is of it, was received at home or its 
surroundings. Teachers encounter sometimes two extremes 
in school and are liable to commit a most egregious error on 
such occasions. Here enters a child, for instance, well dressed 
and cleanly, of winning manners, pleasant face, intelligent 
expression, and all the marks of refined domestic environ- 
ments. It is welcomed with a triendly smile and a cordial 
consideration. 

Here is another coming also, but its makeup is ragged and 
neglected, its manner sulky and shrinking, its expression 
coarse and vulgar, and its bearing generally characteristic of 
a waif of the street. While the former which is almost sur- 
feited with love and tender care at home, finds additional 
kindness at its meeting with the teacher, the latter, starved, 
perhaps, for one ray of sunshine of tenderness and love, finds 
a response to its own distrust in the apparent indifference of 
the teacher and its treatment seems the more offensive by 
contrast with the kindness showered upon the more favored 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 4 1 

pupil. Parents, too, for some cause or another, are guilty 
of such partiality. In such cases the partiality is far more 
cruel and is productive of incalculable mischief. 

There is a certain degree of prudery prevailing among 
parents and teachers in respect to the relationship of husband 
and wife, which their children or pupils are expected to enter 
into sooner or later. No one expects to occupy a position 
in business life without having informed himself in regard to 
its requirements, and sought advice from those interested in 
his welfare or otherwise posted himself on the subject. But 
young people of both sexes are suffered to enter into the 
most sacred relationships of life without one word of 
counsel. 

And this is not all: There is not an experienced teacher 
in the land that has not noticed with aching heart the slimy 
trail of the serpent, the symptoms of secret vices, on the 
countenances of some of his pupils. Attempts to confer with 
the parents in such cases, for the purpose of securing their 
co-operation in the rescue of their child from the inevitable 
consequences of such habits, are too often met by a stolid 
indifterence, an offended incredulity, or even by personal 
insults. 

Then is the time for the teacher to realize his utter de- 
pendence upon the support of his God, whose guidance he 
should seek in secret prayer. Thus fortified, he or she may 
dare to wrestle with the evil. Let the teacher in private in- 
terview approach the afflicted one, of his or her own sex, in 
great kindness, patience and purity. Thus many a young 
life is rescued from destruction, and started anew on a path 
that leads to health, prosperity, and usefulness. 

In schools where both sexes are taught, but where only 
male teachers are laboring, there should be a wise and ex- 
perienced woman chosen as matron to talk with the girls and 
instruct them on moral and hygienic principles pertaining to 



42 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

the nature and mission of their sex. A male teacher recog- 
nizes the fact that there are many things about which he 
would not talk to his own daughters, leaving such instruc- 
tions to be given by their mother; and whatever a teacher 
does not v/ish to say to his own daughters, he has no right 
to say to the daughters of anyone else. 

INCULCATION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF SPIRIT- 
UAL DEVELOPMENT. 

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." 

These words of Scripture place the object of man's life 
upon earth so far above its common conception as to show 
clearly the wide departure of mankind in general from the 
designs of the AUwise Creator. Not ly bread alone, neither 
for bread alone does man live. There are higher objects 
yet to be attained; other truths to be learned, and greater 
v/orks to be done, all of which are indicated by successive 
stakes of continuous revelation stretching into the endless 
perspective of eternity. 

Cultivation of Moral Habits. 

Vivisection of vegetable and animal organisms may be 
comparatively easy and to some extent instructive, but it 
has never touched as yet the mainspring of life, neither has 
the reverse process ever been attempted, viz: to reconstruct 
out of the separate fragments a living thing. 

As the origin of life is as yet far beyond the horizon of 
analytical investigation, so is the nativity of virtue hidden 
behind the veil of infinitude. Virtue is not a mere product 
of the necessities and conveniences of man, nor an empirical 
outgrowth of advancing civilization, to be viewed from a 
purel}/ utilitarian standpoint, as evolutionists would make us 
believe; but it is that attribute of humanity which makes man 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 43 

akin to God. Morality is the extent to which virtue has been 
able to manifest itself in the feelings, desires, words, and 
actions of man, either in his bearing as an individual, or in 
his collective capacity as society. 

As a concrete manifestation of an abstract principle, virtue 
is to be cultivated more effectually by practical training in 
good habits than by mere theoretical instructions and logical 
dissertations. The chief part of morality consists in doing 
and not in merely knoiving. Precepts in morality, therefore, 
should follow the synthetic process, moving from simple ex- 
ample to complex idea. In this way did God educate men 
from the Garden of Eden at the beginning, to the foot of Mt. 
Sinai, in the Mosaic dispensation, then from Calva'ry, in the 
meridian of time, and to the hill Cumorah, at the opening of 
the Latter-Day dispensation. 

The proverb "Knowledge is power," is only relatively 
true. Knowledge should be supported by corresponding 
moral qualities. The formation of character depends upon 
the nature of the moral training v/hich accompanies intellec- 
tual advancement. There are learned fools and learneci 
knaves in this world with all shades and diversities between 
them. A piece of furniture may be beautifully painted, 
splendidly varnished, elaborately ornamented, and gotten 
up in exquisite taste, and still prove worthless on account of 
the rotten timber in it. Another piece far less showy 
may be of greater value because it is proyen to consist of 
solid wood. 

Thus.it is with man. No outward refinement of manners, 
no acquired accomplishments, no excellence in the arts or 
sciences, no mastership in mechanical pursuits, no high 
position in society — can recompense for the lack of a virtu- 
ous character. Parents and teachers ought to make it their 
first and foremost concern, whatever other forming and 
shaping and garnishing their educational efforts may have in 



44 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

view, that the characters of their pupils shall be made of 
sound timber. 

Morality is far more the result of habit than of reasoning. 
This fact serves as a guide to the educator who by persever- 
ance and example, habituates his pupils in good manners, 
noble aspirations, and chaste words and actions, thus assist- 
ing the formation of characters fitted to sustain honorably all 
the eventualities of this life, and prepared by daily object 
lessons in a strict morality, for the duties of a higher exist- 
ence. 

Religioris Training. 

Whence did I come.? What am I here for.? Where am I 
going.? These questions recur in some shape or other to 
every intelligent being. Philosophers with their ever chang- 
ing theories, have tried in vain to solve them. Pessimists of 
the Schopenhauer school have given up the search in despair, 
exclaiming: Life is not worth living; and psychology care- 
fully avoids the lines which separate the "Known" from the 
"Unknown," and the "Unknowable." 

Let us be mindful of the fact, that there is nothing in 
nature without a purpose. Even what we may designate as 
obnoxious weeds, or as vermin, are only organisms, the use 
of which has not yet been discovered by man. Is it philo- 
sophical to believe that within a man there should be placed 
impulses that cause him unceasingly to seek after the origin, 
the nature, and the ultimate aim of himself and everything 
around him, and he be left crying like "a voice in the wilder- 
ness," and never getting an answer.? This would be the only 
inconsistence in all nature, an inconsistence which, by the 
lawsof analogy and probability, is excluded from the assump- 
tion of possibility. The answer comes to us in a form which 
carries with it the stamp of divine authority, and that is 
"Revealed Religion." 

Every sphere of thought and occupation has its own way 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 45 

of expression, a knowledge of which has to be acquired by 
study and practice. The language of music, of poetry, or 
architecture, and of every art and science, is subject to the 
same rule. Some one may have inherent capacities or pro- 
clivities for one or the other of these spheres of thought, but 
if they should not be properly cultivated or be left entirely 
neglected, they would grow wild, remain comparatively un- 
productive, or might even become injurious. This is verified 
also in regard to the religious tendencies inherent in human 
nature. To prevent them trom becoming warped and per- 
verted, as in the case of bigots and fanatics, on the one hand, 
and of agnostics, infidels, and atheists, on the other, a care- 
ful religious training from childhood on, is an indispensible 
requisite of true education. 

It is not dogmatic theology on the Pharisaic or Puritan 
plan, nor a scientifically diluted system after the Unitarian 
fashion, which is here advocated, but a religious training 
based upon the scripture: "The fear of the Lord is the 
beginning of wisdom." Fear, in this connection, does not 
mean something associated with trembling, or with appre- 
hension of evil likely to come upon us from some revengeful 
being, but it expresses rather the idea of reverential devo- 
tion. 

Great and countless opportunities for object-lessons in 
teaching this principle are within the reach of the parent and 
the teacher. The fireside as an emblem of the future heavenly- 
home; the school room as the prototype of the house of God; 
clothing, food, playthings, books, all pleasures and delights 
that excite gratitude and appreciation; parents as represen- 
tatives of the Heavenly Father; teachers as the expounders 
ot the relationship to be sustained by the children later on in 
their church capacity; the Sabbath Day; prayer; ordinances 
of the Gospel; — these are but a few of the things that may 
serve to inculcate love and devotion for the Father in 
Heaven. 



46 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

The notion of not giving the children any religious instruc- 
tion until they are old enough to choose for themselves is a 
dangerous fallacy, — one that has been the ruin of many other- 
wise promising young people. 

The educational methods prevailing in the public schools 
and homes in this country more than anywhere else in civil- 
ized countries, are open to the severe charge of neglecting 
the cultivation of reverence. Hence the disregard for par- 
ental authority out of which grows disloyalty to the laws of 
our country, disregard for the feelings and rights of fellow- 
men, and a growing discontent with the conditions of society. 
No man can ever be true to his God that has not learned to 
be true to his home, his country, and his fellov/-men. This 
life is only a preparatory step for a higher one. All inci- 
dents "that flesh is heir to" are object-lessons by which to 
study the principles of immortality. 

Thus should education at the fireside and in the school- 
room lead the child from the undeveloped life of infancy to 
the maturer years of adolescence. Step by step, along the 
various stages of physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual 
development, it should move upward to the realization of 
man's final destiny, and furnish him with the means of reach- 
ing that destiny. 

The motto of modern education should be the teaching of 
Christ condensed in the words: "Come and follow me!" In- 
stead of the maxim of the old school-master, "Thou shalt." 
Thus leading the youth upward and onward, constantly open- 
ing before him new perspectives of endless progression, it 
should draw daily inspiration from the injunction of the Great 
Teacher, who, in those immortal words of the Sermon on the 
Mount, pointed out as the ultimate aim of all education: "Be 
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
is perfect." 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 47 

CHAPTER III. 



In Regard to the Material to be Worked 

Upon. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHYSICAL MAN. 

"Mens sana in corpore sano," that is, a healthy mind in a 
healthy body. The truth of this old Latin proverb was 
acknowledged by the Romans as well as by their predeces- 
sors in civilization, the Greeks. The latter in their Olympian 
games bestowed crowns upon the victors, and the Great 
Spartan lawgiver, Lycurgus, even ordered that all feeble and 
deformed infants be destroyed. The former held physical 
prowess in such esteem that for bravery and virtue they had 
the same word, and by their gladitorial exhibitions and 
military exploits, they promoted physical development as 
one of the fundamental elements of national prosperity. 

Providence is seemingly operating along similar lines. 
Nations, enfeebled by luxury and its attending vices, are 
overcome and supplanted by more vigorous peoples, and the 
"survival of the fittest" appears to bean historical as well as 
a natural law. 

With such precepts before him, the conscientious educator 
can not afford to ignore the physical nature of his pupils as 
an important material placed at his disposal for cultivation. 
As it would be folly on the part of the skillful navigator to 
expect safe passage in an unseaworthy vessel across a stormy 
ocean, so would it be unreasonable to prepare a child for 
life's great voyage by an elaborate mental training at the 
expense of its physical constitution. 



48 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE 

There is too much of this sort of thing going on, and it is 
largely brought about by the unhealthy composition in our 
public schools. No such numbers of children with impaired 
eyesight, high shoulders, disturbed digestion, marked nervous- 
ness, and feeble frames, especially among the more comfort- 
ably situated class of society, were ever seen before. Six 
hours or more daily in school with lessons to get until the 
late hours of the night, is the lot of many of our school child- 
ren, especially in the big cities, not to speak of private lessons 
in music, elocution, painting, and other accomplishments 
that are added in some instances to the studies of the already 
overtaxed child. 

It is true that there is a greater regard paid now to light, 
ventilation, temperature, commodious desks, good prints in 
text books, healthy location of school houses, suitable cloth- 
ing; and also that these improvements are augmented by 
hygienic exercises of various kind. But all these advantages 
are not sufficient to counteract the evil consequences of the 
tendency toward that nervous overdoing in mental work, that 
characterises the public school system of our day. For the 
purpose of securing success to the few favored by nature to 
endure the strain, many victims are suffered to fall by the 
wayside. 

This censure applies chiefly to our larger towns. The 
children in country places enjoy, to a greater extent, the ad- 
vantages of open air exercises and are rather exposed, in some 
instances, to the other extreme, that is, in not getting enough 
mental activity. 

It is the sacred duty of parents and teachers to understand 
and watch the variety of symptoms indicating the ever 
fluctuating physical conditions of the young people before 
them. Great injustice, and sometimes still greater injury, is 
done by these conditions of childhood through ignorance or 
carelessness. There is more "slaying of innocents" going 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 49 

on through false education in this regard, than the world is 
aware of. 

Thank God, that the time is past when children of tender 
years had to work in mines and factories, or were farmed 
out; although, sad to say, the "sweating system" in some of 
our great cities in the East, is still casting a soul and body 
destroying blight upon hundreds of these little ones. The 
laws of the civilized nations have finally caught up on this 
point, at least so far as the statute book is concerned. But 
there is much to be done yet before an educational system, 
embracing school and fireside, will be evolved that shall so 
develop the physical powers of our nature as to make them 
efficient and never failing handmaids to the mind in the per- 
formance of man's glorious mission. Physical education 
must yet take long strides ere it shall make it possible for 
man's life to endure like that of a tree. 

Purity, chastity, temperance, cleanliness, and compliance 
with the laws of nature, are the inseparable concomitants of 
health, and constitute the leading principles of physical edu- 
cation. The sum total, however, of all that has been said 
on this subject is contained in that Divine Revealation, the 
"Word of Wisdom." this is the strongest and surest factor in 
bringing about that grand result. 

The Word of Wisdom is commonly understood to mean 
simply atotal abstinence from intoxicants, stimulating drinks, 
and tobacco, and a restriction to the moderate use of meat. 
Yet a far greater application of that Divine Revelation 
will be necessary before its benefits can be enjoyed in their 
fullness. 

This fundamental principle of a healthful life is best incul- 
cated by example. Whenever that example is as far from 
mere Puritanic abstemiousness as it is from an ostentatious 
observance of some particular feature of that divine command- 
ment, and is accompanied by that charity for others without 



50 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

which any virtue loses its halo, then the Word of Wisdom 
will become a bulwark against the destroyer among our 
people. Generations will arise whose healthy bodies will be 
fit tabernacles for immortal souls, filled with the spirit of the 
Living God. 

DEVELOPMENT OF MENTAL CAPACITIES. 

It is not the mission of parents and teachers to enter into 
psychological investigation for the purpose of determining 
the exact line of demarkation between the physical and 
mental life of the child. They find the functions of both so 
well defined and yet so closely interwoven, that they are 
sometimes under the necessity of temporarily substituting 
the cultivation of one for that of the other. But it must be 
their aim at all times to develop both lines as harmoniously 
as possible. 

Notwithstanding the almost endless variety of capacities 
and dispositions in children, as the result of physical condi- 
tions, heredity, and environments, educators recognize many 
indications to guide them in dealing with the mysteries and 
intricacies of child-life. 

When with the awakening of the perceptive faculties the 
child passes from helpless infancy into the first period of 
self-activity, imagination becomes the predominate faculty 
of the mind. An old stick becomes a horse to the boy, a 
bundle of rags a doll to the girl, and a sand-pile a little world 
for them both. Parents and teachers, if they will recall, as 
far as possible, the events of their own childhood, will find in 
them the keynote for the proper treatment of this|beautiful 
gift of the Creator to childhood. Thus they will be able to 
avoid the mistakes which, perhaps, in their own young life, 
had so often marred, unnecessarily and cruelly, their innocent 
enjoyments They will take delight in bestowing upon their 
young charges, occasionally, little endearments for which they 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 5 I 

themselves used to sigh with longing eyes and hungry hearts 
in childhood. 

This exceedingly vivid imagination, or phantasy, as Dr. 
Baldwin calls it, is often grievously misunderstood. Child- 
ren thus inclined, are often not capable of distinguishing 
clearly between things imagined and things real. Their 
statements, descriptions, and reports of things, persons, and 
incidents, may be exaggerated, perverted, or even entirely 
ot their own invention. To charge them in such cases directly 
with lying, would many times not only be unjust, but also 
unwise. Gently to disentangle them from the workings of 
their own imagination and to lead them to a perception of the 
reality in the case, is by far the wiser course, in as much as 
ic not only leads the child to perceive its mistake, but also 
induces it to be more guarded in the future. 

The telling of stories is one of the strongest educational 
factors in this period of child-life. Care must be taken, how- 
ever, that the imagination be not filled with untruthful and 
unnatural concepts, such as arc often found in fairy tales and 
fables. There is such an inexhaustible treasure of beautiful, 
interesting, and fascinating incidents found in nature, in 
history, in the lives of great and good men and women, in 
the scriptures, and in the educator's own experience, that 
there is little necessity for misleading the divine gift of im- 
agination into the untruthful realms of fairyland and fable. 
The latter province has only too often a tendency to form a 
a prejudice in the child's heart against some innocent object 
of God's creation. 

The mental growth of the child should be kept as much as 
possible in unison with its physical development. It is a 
well known fact that children of a nervous temperament are 
apt to develop the preceptive faculties more rapidly than 
those of a more phlegmatic organization. 

When an easily excitable, nervous system, is stimulated 



52 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

into unusual activity, nature can not sufficiently replenish the 
waste of brain tissue caused by that process, and the result 
is precocity. The conscientious educator occasionally be- 
holds with sorrow and mental protest, a fragile creature 
brought out at public or private gatherings to exhibit to the 
admiration of the audience some clever performance in recita- 
tion, acting, or music. The sparkling eyes, the delicately 
formed features, and the fairy-like appearance of the child 
are taken as prophetic tokens of future excellence in this or 
that direction. Fond mothers urge the innocent victim to 
still greater exertions, proud fathers stimulate it by gifts and 
prizes, and thoughtless teachers too often parade it for selfish 
purposes. All this kind of procedure only serves, as it were, 
to fasten a mortgage on the poor child's physical, mental, and 
moral future. Such mortgages have sometimes been re- 
deemed by successes in later years, as in the case of Mozart 
and others, but in most cases, nature forecloses the dread con- 
tract long before middle age is reached, and imbicility, 
mediocrity, and even premature death is the result. 

Rapid development of mental faculties in children is no 
more a sure indication of real mental force, than a slower 
development can be considered always a sign of mental dull- 
ness. Parents and teachers need, therefore, much discern- 
ment, patience, and good judgment, in dealing with the 
extremes daily met with in the lives of children. 

The great problem in education is to discover the sphere 
of action for which any given child is most adapted and to 
turn its thoughts and energies in that direction. 

Right here attention has to be called to the mistaken idea 
that mechanical occupations do not require any particular 
mental efforts, and that consequently, persons engaged in 
them ought to occupy an inferior position in the social scale. 

There is no legitimate occupation, be it ever so menial, 
that does not offer opportunity for the exercise of skill; 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 53 

and skill lin anything is the result of a combination of mental 
and physical effort. Without the co-operation of mental 
powers in physical labor, the latter soon becomes a drudgery. 
On the other hand, the powers of a superior mind may make 
even menial labor not only endurable, but often productive 
of such pleasurable mental stimulus, as to renew their energy 
and endurance. Instances: The French army on their fear- 
ful retreat from Moscow in 18 12, when on the point of 
lying down by the wayside to die, the exhausted soldiers 
rallied around their standards with enthusiasm when 
the bugle or the drum announced a pending attack by 
Cossacks. A most beautiful illustration of this psychological 
principle is given in "Ben Hur," where the hero of the tale 
is represented as a galley slave holding at bay by mental 
effort the soul and body-destroying influences of his dreadful 
condition. 

It should be the aim of parents and teachers to encourage 
the cultivation of intellectuality and will-power, so that these 
faculties may be made available in the performance of the 
duties and responsibilities of active life and in the endurance 
of the inconveniences and trials of mortality. "Excelsior" 
should be the motto of every boy and girl. A laudable am- 
bition to excel is an indespensible requisite of success. Men 
as well as women have risen from the lowest ranks of society, 
emerged from the depths of poverty, or overcame the diffi- 
culties of adverse circumstances by perseveringly devoting 
their energies to the accomplishments of their aims and 
aspirations. 

A being without an aim in life, or not possessing the 
requisite concentrativenes-s of purpose to assist him in resist- 
ing temptations, or in sticking to his principles in spite of 
allurements, is like a cork floating upon the water, driven 
hither and thither by every current that flows and every 
wind that blows. He will most likely turn out a failure in 



54 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

any position he may occupy, or in any relationship in 
domestic, social, or business life he may ever be called upon 
to sustain. 

CULTIVATION OF SPIRITUAL ASPIRATIONS. 

"The children of this world are wiser in their generation 
than the children of light." By this saying, the Great 
Teacher divides mankind into two classes. The distinguish- 
ing characteristics of each are found in their aspirations, 
motives of action, and so-called "ruling passions." Those of 
the children of this world are circumscribed exclusively by 
things of this world, as for instance, accumulation of wealth, 
ambition, gratification of sensual pleasures, or the mere 
struggle of "making a living." The children of light, on the 
other hand, have opening before them an endless perspective 
limited neither by time, earthly existence, nor degree of 
earthly progression. To them the requirements, experiences, 
aims, aspirations, possibilities, vicissitudes, achievments, and 
incidents of earthly existence are mere object-lessons in the 
preparatory course for a higher existence. 

Christ designates the children of this world as wiser in their 
generation than the children of light. And so they ought 
to be, for all their aims and aspirations must be reached and 
accomplished in this life. Not to reach the satisfaction sought 
for, or not to accomplish the aims reached after, and so to 
mourn over the ruins of scattered hopes, means a life spent 
in vain. As an illustration, look upon Napoleon, when as an 
exile in the isle of St. Helena, he was devoured by that 
ambition which had once set the world afire, and now was 
turning upon himself like the vulture of Prometheus. 

If immortality were only a preservation of our names in the 
memory of man, or only a lasting continuation of the works 
we leave behind, the children of this world would be wiser 
not only /« this generation but indeed so. But the children 
of light have after all "chosen the better part." 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE 55 

There is a law in nature that the time of growth and 
development of any living thing is in proportion to the length 
of its average duration of life. Hence herbs, grasses, and 
so forth, develop rapidly, while oaks, beaches, and other 
trees of hard structure, are of slow growth. The same law 
holds good in the animal creation, and is applicable also to 
man's physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual nature. 

The children of this world consider only this world their 
sphere of activity and final aims, while the children of light 
have eternity before them, with the vistas of progression 
reaching out to an endless perspective. 

True educators are taking cognizance of the principles 
underlying the above illustrated saying of Christ, and keep 
constantly before their eyes the ultimate aims of education. 
As an engineer in surveying a canal or a railroad must take 
his bearings in view of the terminus of his line of survey, so 
has the educator to keep before him constantly the ultimate 
aims of all education, which Christ points out to us in the 
words: "Be ye perfect even as your Father in Heaven is 
perfect." 

The method and means adopted for the development ol 
the physical body, of the mental capacities, of the moral 
qualities, and of the spiritual aspirations, are educational 
phases, grades of progress, converging lines, and stepping 
stones, all of which ought to bear upon the characteristics of 
that true education which finds its crowning glory in the 
attainment of the divine attributes. No matter how small 
a plant may appear in its first stages of development, it bears 
the characteristics of its kind so unmistakably, that a farmer 
may at once pronounce the sprouting grain to be wheat or 
barley, etc. Whether, therefore, the experienced teacher 
watch any phase of education at the fireside or in school, in 
the kindergarten, the district school, or the college, in any 
branch of science, literature, or art, he will never be at a loss 



56 SCHOOL JND FIRESIDE. ■ 

to distinguish quickly, the education characteristic to the 
children of the world from that characteristic to the children 

of light. 

With the removal of religion as the fundamental principle 
of education, our public school s}/stem has been deprived of 
the most effective motive power. To cover this defect emu- 
lation and ambition have been called into requisition as sub- 
stitutes. These substitutes would be absolutely dangerous 
if they were not sought to be counteracted by a diluted form 
of religion, called ethics. In the form of fables, stories, and 
illustrations from nature and history, religion is administered 
to the spiritual nature of youth in homeopathic doses. 

It has been written of old "that in the latter days the 
hearts of the fathers should be turned toward their children." 
As there never has been a time, nor a people, when fathers 
have not loved their children, as a rule, this prophecy must 
have a meaning beyond the natural love inherent in all 
human beings toward their offspring. A love, therefore, 
manifesting itself merely in caring for the child's physical 
welfare, for his mental development to the end that he may 
acquire success in life, and even for his moral condition, that 
he may become honorable, and a beloved and respected 
member of society, would not answer the claims of that 
ancient prophecy; for these features of education were more 
or' less observed even in the days of that old prophet. 

The educational systems of our day, possessing advantages 
in the matter of scientifically trained teachers, in judicious 
gradation, in scientific apparatus, in cabinets and libraries, 
in light and ventilation, itt furniture and utensils, in text and 
reference books, in magazines and periodicals, — far surpass 
anything that the world has ever known before. Even in the 
matter of playthings, illustrative, instructing, and entertain- 
ing, the fireside is furnished with means to make the home 
circle attractive to the child in ways that former generations 
never dreamed of. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 57 

All this would indicate a close application of that ancient 
prophecy. 

But a serious draw-back to these outward improvements 
has made itself felt, which deprives them of a ^reat por- 
tion of their glory. The competition existing between 
schools and teachers, of which more Avill be said hereafter, 
produces a kind of high-pressure education, comparable to a 
hot-house process in botanical gardens. The result is a 
gradual overcrowding oi the so-called learned professions, and 
a dislike for the mechanical and productive occupations, 
accompanied by a spirit of restlessness, discontent, and self- 
conceit, such as is always associated with superficiality and 
half-learning. 

This condition of affairs, if suffered to continue and to in- 
crease, forebodes no good to the stability of our social insti- 
tutions. With the abandonment ot religion, education has 
lost its safe anchorage, is drifting into the unknown currents 
of experimentalism, and is in danger of striking the shoals 
and banks of infidelity. And as to the last point, I do not 
hesitate in saying, that I would rather see my child exposed 
to the dangers of an infectious disease and trust to medical 
treatment, or better still, to the faith within me and to the 
ordinances of the Gospel, to rescue it from fatal consequen- 
ces, than to have it exposed to the influence of an infidel 
teacher. 

When Israel stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, they put bounds 
around the mountain, allowing none but Moses to go up and 
speak with Jehovah. There is no fence around the mountain 
any more, and the road is open to all. Our youth need 
leaders in school and at the fireside, to go before them and 
show them the way, step by step, in usefulness, industry, in- 
telligence, faith, obedience, each day higher and higher up; 
leaders among parents and teachers, that by their own daily 
walk and conduct will inscribe upon the hearts of their foi- 



58 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

lowers the words of Christ: "Come, follow me!" Then, by 
and by, the generations of the youth of Zion will reach the 
top of the mountain and commune with Jehovah as Moses did 
of old. 



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PERSONS WH.OM EDUCATION 
AFFESTS, 



As it is essential for the educator to be fully posted in 
regard to those general principles of education which appear 
in this treatise under the head of "History" and of "Aims," 
so the persons affected by education form so vital a chapter 
in a just and logical treatment of the subject, that a brief 
survey of these various classes presents itself to us as the 
next point for consideration. Foremost among them are 
Parents. 



CHAPTER I. 



Parents. 



To obtain the highest conception of the calling of a man 
and a woman in the capacity of parents, one must look upon 
them from an educational point of view, for from no other 
does the grandeur of this sacred relationship so well present 
itself to the mind with all its intricate complexity. The 
home is the sanctuarj- of the human race, where each genera- 
tion is consecrated tor its life's mission. The parents are 
the high priests, responsible to God for the spirit of their 
ministry. 



6o SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

BEGINNING AND DURATION OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. 

The ph3/sical, intellectual, and moral status of a nation is 
to a great extent the result of the conditions under which 
preceding generations have lived and developed; and on the 
same principle, the present generation is destined to shape 
the character of those succeeding it. The same law holds 
good in regard to families. By the law of heredity, physical, 
mental, and moral conditions are transmitted from generation 
to generation to a greater or less extent as the strength of 
any particular characteristic, accompanied by favoring con- 
ditions, may be able to make itself felt in the blood of a 
family. The decree of the Almighty, that he will visit the 
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and 
fourth generation, but will show mercy unto thousands that 
love him., is verified by the law of natural heredity. 

This fact contains an earnest admonition to all parents. 
While they are not held responsible for the deeds of their 
progenitors, although bearing more or less the burden of 
hereditary imperfections, or, on the same principle, enjoying 
inherited advantages, they must be aware of the fact that 
heredity does not stop with them, but continues, and that, 
therefore, they will incur responsibilities for coming genera- 
tions. Responsibility reaches not only to the generations 
past and gone, but commences anew with ourselves, to con- 
tinue into yet unborn generations, which will receive from 
us a heritage that may prove either a curse or a blessing. 
The seed of Cain still carry the burden of their first 
ancestor's crime, while the seed of Abraham have not lost the 
faith in Jehovah's promise as given to the patriarch of their 
race. 

But coming now to the responsibility resting upon the 
individual parent, the subject assumes even a more serious 
aspect, as it refers to an undivided responsibility, a respon- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 6 1 

sibility not to be shared either by nation or by ancestry; an 
account that on the g-reat day of reckoning must be settled 
to the last farthing. 

This being the case, the question arises: When does it 
begin? Some are ready in answering that it commences on 
the da\- when the child enters the schoolrooni for the first; 
time. It is then that responsibility for regular and punctual 
attendance, procuring books and school utensils, proper 
clothing, a certain degree of supervision over home studit-s 
and compliance with school regulations, and so forth, — be- 
comes an indispensable adjunct to parental duties. This 
view of responsibilit)'' does no more cover the ground than a 
new hat may be called a fiiU suit of clothes. 

Others are willing to concede that parental responsibility 
begins when the child commences to walk and talk, as then 
it is capable of receiving impressions for good or evil. Al- 
though this argument appears very plausible at first sight, 
closer analysis reveals the fact that even at this period of 
life, physical and mental dispositions and conditions already 
manifest themselves; characteristics that must be results of 
causes for whose existence the parents may be more or less 
responsible. 

Look, for instance, at those feeble and scrofulous children 
in the infirmary. Do they not in many instances show that 
the sins of the fathers have been visited upon the children.'' 
Numerous instances, some of a pleasant, others of a sorrow- 
ful nature, as the case may be, are constantly coming under 
the eye of the close observer, demonstrating the fact, that 
parental responsibility commences with the parents them- 
selves, in their dispositions, conduct, principles of action, in 
short, in the thoughts and sentiments of their very hearts. 

"Like begets like," is a law of all creation. Gardners and 
farmers succeed in improving species of plants by cultivation 



62 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

from year to year; and stock raisers talk of fine breeds. So 
among the human race are found, from generation to genera- 
tion, families of criminals, imbeciles, and libertines. On 
the other hand, there are families whose repute for virtue, 
integrity, wisdom, learning, and other excellencies have re- 
mained without a blemish for ages. There never was a great 
man or woman whose life did not point to the influence of a 
good mother as the first start on the road to his or her success, 
and so on the other hand. I myself once heard a murderer 
charge the beginning of his downward career to his parents. 

When does parental authority cease.? It must be evident 
that responsibility is gradually but only partially transferred 
to the offspring as fast as the assumption of free agency be- 
comes a part of life's program in every individual. The 
parental guiding lines have to be surrendered one after an- 
other, but not all of them; some remain forever. 

It is much to be regretted that comparatively few parents 
comprehend the just measure of freedom, indulgence, and 
independent action to be assigned to their children. While 
some, by their stern and despotic government, incapacitate 
their children for the just exercise of independence and thus 
cause them to fall into the extremes of recklessness or weak- 
ness of character, others suffer their boys to "sow their wild 
oats," and permit their girls to roam beyond their parent's 
control in unsafe surroundings as to persons, places, and 
hours. These weaknesses of judgment have caused the 
downfall of many otherwise promising young people, and 
brought grief and shame to many a household. 

Parental responsibility never entirely ceases, not even v/ith 
the closing of the cofifin lid. There is an inheritance to be 
left of far greater importance than houses and lands, or gold 
and silver, in never ending, but, in itself, ever reproducing 
progression. "Das ist der Fluch der Boesen, dass sie, 
lortzeugend, Boeses muss gebaeren." — Schiller. (That is 




II 



U <1> 

O > 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 6^ 

the curse of the evil deed that, forever begetting", it must 
bring forth evil.) 

How blessed, on the other hand, is he that can treasure 
up within the Holy of holies of his heart, the sacred memory 
of a noble father and a pure mother to shield him in the houi' 
of temptation, to guide him in all his actions, and to bequeath 
to his own posterity the precious heritage of a good name 
untarnished from generation to generation! 

PRINCITLES UNDERLYING THE FIRESIDE EDUCATION. 

Family and home are institutions whose origin is identical 
with that of the human race itself, and they have maintained 
their identity under a variety of forms throughout all the 
changes vv^hich climate, nationality, creeds, peace and war, 
social and political conditions, civilization or the want of 
it, — have wrought with all other institutions of mankind. 
Their influence upon nations as well as upon individuals is 
ineradicable, hence, lawgivers, philosophers, and educators 
have recognized them as the strongest factors in the construc- 
tion of their various social systems. 

Although the influence of race, the spirit of times and of 
localities, and the religious, social, and financial environ- 
ments, shape the conditions of families and homes to a con- 
siderable extent, still parents remain, after all, the cliief factors 
in the domestic drama. By their precepts and example they 
may modulate it either into a harmonious whole, or turn it 
into a state of confusion. While in the former instances 
peace prevails, and temporal, moral, and intellectual pros- 
perity is engendered, the latter may result in degradation 
with all its attending evils. 

By the laws governing the universe, each of the constituent 
parts of a planetary system moves, with a mathematical 
exactness of velocit}^, in its orbit around the central body, 
never conflicting with other planets. This fact should be 



64 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

recognized in everx^ home as the protot5''pe of a well con- 
ducted family. "Order is heaven's first law," has become a 
somewhat trite sa}7ing', but it is truth all the same. Order is 
the observance of, and compliance with, adopted rules in 
regard to persons, things, places, and times, which definition 
applies also to obedience. 

A mere compliance with any particular demand does not 
embrace the full meaning of the divine principle of obedience, 
for that would presuppose, not only the necessity of a super- 
ior antecedent, but exclude also, to some extent, the exercises 
of free-agency and thereby deprive the act of the better part 
of its moral value. 

Obedience and its co-ordinate principle of order in their 
mechanical observance are best illustrated in the movements 
of inanimate nature, which take place in compliance wnth in- 
exhorable laws. But in proportion as life makes itself felt, 
be it in plant or in animal, freedom of choice becomes mani- 
fest also, until in man it attains its acme. 

This progressive law of choice should furnish parents a 
guide in the management of their fam.il}'-, especially in regard 
to children. A child enters this world without smy power of 
observation, knowledge, or will of its own, all of which 
parents have to supply as necessity rec[uires. Gradually, 
however, physical and mental faculties begin to develop, and 
training as to their proper use becomes a leading object of 
education. Nature is the best educator. Mothers following 
intuitively the promptings of this teacher, know how to teach 
their little ones how to walk, to talk, and so forth, thus giving 
the infant opportunities for the exercise of its free agency in 
a measure. If this course should be logically and systematic- 
ally adhered to during the further progress, there would be 
very little need of this dissertation on the subject. But, un- 
fortunately, this line of proceedure is gradually abandoned, 
and parents suffer themselves to be guided too often by 
arbitrary principles. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 65 

The various means b)^ which children are trained in the 
principles of obedience and order are comprised under the 
generic name of discipline. Discipline is the climate of the 
home and the family. This climate, when it is as it should 
be, you can neither see, nor hear, nor handle. Whenever 
you do see or hear it, it is an indication that the equilibrium 
is disturbed. Some obstruction or irregularity has been un- 
expectedly encountered, and a commotion, merely unpleasant, 
perhaps, threatens to assume serious proportions. All this 
might have been prevented in most cases by judicious man- 
agement. Hurricanes, thunder storms, and other atmos- 
pheric disturbances, in the climate of a country, resemble 
such family jars. 

Children ought to be trained, step by step in the exercise 
of this free agency, and this right should be measured out to 
them in exact proportion to the grade of accountability 
which age, intelligence, will power, and moral disposition 
have developed in them. No more, no less. This corres- 
ponds with the disciplinary principles observed by the state 
in regard to its citizens, and is laid down in the Word of God 
as the line along which salvation and exaltation can be 
obtained. 

Parental authority in the family circle prepares us for the 
authority which governments exercise over citizens, and for 
the authority of our Heavenly Father, to whom all men should 
render homage. Whenever the first step in this grand series 
is neglected, there is little hope that the following two will 
be satisfactorily complied with unless better experience shall 
bring about a reformation. Over-indulgent and weak parents 
will not succeed in raising useful citizens for the state, nor 
devout and faithful children of God. 

METHODS OF FIRESIDE EDUCATION. 
The manar^ement of domestic affairs differs widely in some 



66 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

respects from methods governing outside organizations. 
While the latter are conducted by constitution and by-laws, 
or by rules and regulations provided by those in charge, the 
former depends in some measure upon unwritten laws, en- 
vironments, personal dispositions, and degree of intellectual, 
moral, and spiritual culture. 

Methods, speakirig in the strict sense of the term, are to be 
adopted with great caution in domestic education, in as much 
as a strict, methodical course is too apt to degenerate into 
pedantry, and to destroy the gentle influence of mutual 
affection between parents and children. All domestic re- 
lationships lose the glory of their divine origin and sink to 
the level of human conventionality, expediency, and self- 
interest, whenever the inspiration of love is supplanted by 
the pursuance of cast-iron rules. 

And yet, dependence upon the impulse of the moment as 
the only guide in the management of children, is as unjust, 
illogical, and dangerous, to the growth of evenly balanced 
minds, as the extremely methodical course is destructive of 
filial affection. Reprimands and punishments are too often 
measured out, not by the intrinsic merits of the case, but by 
the momentary temper of the parent. As there is an intuitive 
sense of justice and right in every child, such a course not 
only produces in the heart of the child an angry and resent- 
ful protest against such treatment, and thereby frustrates the 
moral reformation which would be the object of every punish- 
ment, but also blunts the natural sensitiveness of the child, 
and plants there the seeds of dissimulation, deceit, lying, 
resentment, hatred, and selfishness. 

The over-indulgence of fond parents in cases of unbecom- 
ing conduct or of serious offences, is another fruitful source 
of failures in domestic education. It is unfortunate that this 
charge has to be made to a greater or less extent against 
our American domestic education in general. The author's 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 67 

own experience in the school room enables him to record 
numerous instances of almost personal insult from patrons 
when they were asked for parental co-operation in the en- 
deavor to rescue their children from a downward course. 
The results of this mistake can be seen in the prevailing dis- 
regard for parental authority, in the laxity of public morals 
and political integrity, in the frivolous ease with which 
matrimonial ties may be dissolved, and in the open defiance 
of law and authority. These are signs foreboding many 
tribulations for our nation. 

Methods there are, however, by which domestic education 
ought to be regulated to some extent. A general system of 
order, cleanliness, punctuality, industry, good manners, 
veracicy, and obedience, should pervade every household. 
Such a system should be inaugurated by the example ot 
parents, as otherwise, it could not be carried through, all 
lecturing, reprimanding, exhorting, and teaching to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

All education consists of two great principles, viz: convey- 
ing information, and training in habits. While the former 
necessarily constitutes the leading feature of school-room 
work, the latter is the key-note ot the domestic branch. But 
neither of these factors in the education of the child is ex- 
empted from the duty of paying attention to the other in a 
subordinate measure. 

Habit, as a factor in education, has not generally been 
considered by parents and teachers to that extent which its 
influence upon the character of the child demands. There 
are intellectual, moral, and spiritual habits. A great deal, 
and perhaps the most part, of our so-called knowledge is 
merely intellectual habit, consisting of the assumption as 
truth of historical, scientific, political, and literar)^ statements, 
without ability on our part, of verifying them except, indeed, 
by acquired arguments which rest themselves, upon the 



68 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

assertions of other men. Hence people have opposite con- 
victions in regard to astronomical, geological, physiological, 
and kindred subjects, and yet are equally intelligent and 
firmly convinced of the truth of their respective theories. All 
depends upon the training which their reasoning habits have 
received. Men, for instance, have very conflicting views on 
politics. There are highly intelligent men upholding with 
sincere patriotism the systems of absolute, or of constitu- 
tional monarchy, as the case may be; others equally intelli- 
gent, entertain strong convictions in regard to any of the 
multitudinous party theories prevailing in republics. None 
of them can be justly called a fool or a knave for diftering, 
say, from our individual views on the same subjects. Each 
one's way of looking at things is simply the result of habit, 
the end fibres of the roots of which may have to be traced 
back into the days of earliest childhood. 

There are also moral habits, indeed, these constitute almost 
the entire fabric of morality. That morality which results 
from philosophical reasoning, rests upon a sandy and untrust- 
worthy foundation, liable to be swept away by the waves ol 
temptation, excitement, or captivating sophistry. "Train up 
a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not 
depart from it," is a saying of Scripture, based upon a correct 
knowledge of human nature. The children of honest, in- 
dustrious, and temperate people will naturally be predisposed 
to follow their parents along these liaes unless other influ- 
ences should cause them to deviate from that course. 
Domestic education, therefore, owes the duty of habituating 
children, by consistent, persevering example, in doing things 
that are right, and in avoiding things that are evil. 

In this connection it is my duty again to call the attention 
of parents to the principle of chastity. This virtue is violated 
to a far greater extent than most parents are aware of, and 
needs the watchfulness and anxious care of every educator. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 69 

Especially are the secret vices fastening their fangs, to an 
alarming extent, upon the bodies and souls of our children. 
When once bitten by the serpent in this way, the rescue 
from the inevitable calamities to follow, will become more 
difficult in proportion to the delay. 

Spiritual habits come next for consideration. These are 
no less lasting and influential in the life of every human be- 
ing. The heathen worships his idols and practices the rites 
of his idolatry with the same habitual sincerity, that the 
Mohammedan invokes his Allah and Prophet Mohamed, or 
the Christian endeavors to follow Christ according to the 
fashion of his respective denomination, and so also the Infidel 
or Agnostic persistently indulges in the disintegrating ten- 
dencies of skepticism. The children of Agnostics generally 
follow parents in their negative belief, while children of faith- 
ful Latter-day Saints, when habituated in the observance of 
the commandments and statutes of the Gospel, will in most 
cases grow up to serve the Lord. 

Ricci, a general of the Jesuites in the last century, under- 
stood the force of this early training in habits, when he said: 
"Give me the education of the children of a nation until 
their twelfth year, I do not care what they may be taught 
afterwards, they will be good Catholics forever. " 

In the face of these facts, the shortsightedness of many 
parents among the Latter-day Saints in regard to the intel- 
lectual, moral, and spiritual training of their children is in- 
explicable. Some of these parents are piling up a respon- 
sibility which nobody with his eyes open would care to 
assume. 



JO SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

CHAPTER II. 



School Authorities. 



state: or municipality. 

Education, having been recognized, long since, by all 
enlightened nations as one of the strongest factors in the 
maintenance and furtherance of civilization, has received 
more or less careful attention from the law-making powers, 
and has been conducted according to such enactments. These 
enactments give a very fair estimate of the moral and intel- 
lectual status of a nation. While in nations reputed for in- 
telligence, enterprise, and progressive tendencies, education 
occupies a position among the most important affairs of the 
state, in others, less forward, it is still relegated to the rear, 
and is fed with the crumbs that fall from the master's table. 

The various commonwealths of our glorious Union have 
vied with each other in their endeavors to formulate 
school laws that shall meet all the requirements of our pro- 
gressive age, and our own fair state is not far behind in the 
procession. 

There is situated in Utah a Board of Education for the 
state, one for every county, and one for every city of the 
first and second class, and to each of these Boards is attached 
a Superintendent as its agent and executive of^cer. 

State, as well as county, and city educational authorities 
seem to have put forth every effort, at least during the last 
(qw years, to establish a system of education in Utah that 
should bring the benefits of the common school within 
the reach of every child of our people, and these efforts have 
been crowned in many localities with unusual success. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 71 

The first step toward the attainment of so desirable an end, 
is the enactment of a school law, which shall entrust the 
execution and supervision of its provisions to a state board 
of education, and to a superintendent ot public instruction. 

The various counties, cities of the first and second c ass, 
and school districts, have their special boards of education, 
and with the exception of the last, each has its own superin- 
tendent, assisted by a County Board of Examiners. The 
impression prevails yet among man)-, that this, v/ith the 
necessary financial support, is all that is required to set the 
educational machine in motion and turn out the desired pro- 
ducts. But as the whitewasher said with a sigh, when he 
saw some one else whitewashing a fence: "There is painting 
and painting," so there are school authorities and scliool 
authorities. Experience has demonstrated the fact, that man)- 
of these boards and appointees have proved too often an 
obstacle rather than a help in the cause of education. 

The requisite characteristics for an occupant of such offices 
should be devotion to the cause of education, sufficient in- 
telligence to comprehend the progressive tendency of educa- 
tion, a conservative disposition to hold the balance between 
the impetuosity of the educators and the parsimonious ten- 
dencies of the communities, and a reputation for integrity 
and purity of character that bestows upon an\' man a moral 
authority independent of his official position. 

The advantage of having at least one lady member in every 
board of education, whether of state, county, district, or city, 
has not been as generally recognized thus far, as the nature 
of the case demands. One-half of the school population is 
of the female sex, as regards teachers as well as pupils. This 
one-half should be represented in the various school boards 
as a matter of equity, in the first place. But there is a more 
serious reason even for this suggestion. Although the wants 
of female education have received generous recognition in 



72 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

many respects, yet whatever luis been done toward it, has 
been accomplished by tlie devotion, intelligence, and perse- 
verance of noble women, wresting it piecemeal from the law- 
making power, or from other influential agencies. Women 
should have a direct vote in the management and govern- 
ment of educational affairs. 

The Superintendents of Public Instruction, county and 
city superintendents, and supervising officers of special school 
districts, should invariably be professional teachers of long 
experience. These responsible positions have often been 
filled b}^ persons with no more capacity for comprehending 
the nature of school work, than a blacksmith has for paint- 
ing the picture of a Madonna. 

CHURCH. 

(See Organizations. Chapter III, Our Church School 
System — Authorities.) 

MODES OF ELECTION OR APPOINTMENT. 

The work of school authorities in Utah has been, hereto- 
fore, imperfectly understood. Only in recent years has a 
comprehension of the great responsibility dawned upon the 
majority of occupants of such positions. It would be unjust 
to lay the blame for the incompetency or indifference mani- 
fested in days past, entirely upon the shoulders of those 
respective officers, as many of them were, notwithstanding 
their pronounced failures in office, men of integrity. The 
fault was with the people or the appointing powers, which 
put men into offices for which they were not qualified. 

In the days when, here and there, "schools were kept 
before there were any schools," as one of those old timers 
put it within the author's hearing, — men were chosen as 
school trustees, for instance, because they had nothing else 
to do. Others more capable for the place, considered their 
time too valuable thus to waste it upon school affairs that 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 73 

were not of much account anyway. School meetings, there- 
fore, were frequently attended by not more than half a dozen 
citizens or so, that just happened to drop in. 

All this primitive condition of things which is character- 
istic of the pioneer period of every newly settled country, has 
been replaced by a desire to overtake, in the educational 
progress. States that could build upon foundations laid by 
preceding generations; States that have the support of a 
larger population, and, consequently, greater financial facil- 
ities than our comparatively isolated location has hitherto 
been able to afford us. 

These efforts, made in the face of almost insurmountable 
obstacles, have been to the everlasting credit of the people 
in these valleys of the mountains, and at last, though re- 
luctantly, the outside world is withdrawing the charge, that 
the Mormon people are opposed to education. 

But with the change in our political condition, commonly 
designated as "the division upon party lines," there has 
arisen a danger to the welfare of our schools far more threat- 
ening than all the miserable features of our past educational 
stages put together. I refer to the introduction of politics 
into the management of our educational system. 

Politics is a curse in educational matters. Any principle, 
good or bad, leads ultimately to results by which it is bound 
to stand or fall, independently of temporary success or fail- 
ure. A State Board of Education, or a Superintendent of 
Public Instruction, is to be chosen. The former, let us say, 
is appointed by the Legislature, the latter elected by the 
people. If, unfortunately, a partisan feeling should prevail 
in the election of these officers, they would consider them- 
selves bound to use the influence of their offices in the interest 
of their party, as regards persons and measures, wherever 
possible or convenient. Subordinate school authorities 
would follow the example and teachers would be engaged 



74 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

or dismissed, not so much on account of their merits or 
demerits as in consideration of their party proclivities. 
It may happen then that officers or teachers of long experi- 
ence and fruitful services may find themselves set adrift to 
make room for successful partisans, men to whom, the party 
owes a compensation for campaign work, regardless of their 
educational fitness. 

Not to be exposed to the vicissitudes of political chicanery, 
some officers and teachers may perhaps play the role of 
political weather-cocks and change their coats to the fashion 
of the times, and if such stultification becomes necessary in 
order to hold positions, the better class of teachers will seek 
situations and careers more worthy of their manhood and 
honest convictions. In the latter case, the schools would be 
deprived of the noblest element of vitality and progress. 

And 5-'et, bad as it is, this would not be the worst feature 
of political interference with education. Such interference 
would cast its blight upon the pupils also. It would destroy 
confidence in the stabilit)^, justice, and wisdom of the school 
system. It would make scholars personally interested in the 
political changes likely to affect their teachers, and introduce 
that feverish excitement into the school which is so destruc- 
tive to all study an discipline. 

Our schools would soon become political hotbeds, not only 
during election times, but all the year round; for many 
teachers would be trying to make propaganda for their own 
political party, incited primarily, perhaps, by the instinct of 
self-preservation. Dissentions among teachers and between 
teachers and students would ensue, and the filthy stream of 
party politics would pollute the sanctity of the school room, 
unprotected as it would be, by that natural affection which 
the family at the fireside enjoys. 

Devoted and trustworthy teachers are not found fighting 
in the political arena; for no teacher can do that without 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 75 

robbing- his calling, and losing the sacred character ot 
neutrality, which should characterize the faithful moulder of 
youthful minds. For this reason, once more let me say, 
politics are a curse in educational affairs, even if they con- 
taminate only a member of some board of education, some 
superintendent, or some teacher. In all cases there is danger 
that the contagion will finally reach the school and the child- 
ren, and spoil the work. 



CHAPTER III. 



Teachers. 



As EDUCATION had to meet the increasing complexity of 
civilized society and its necessities by the introduction of 
new features, laws were enacted to regulate its operations, 
authorities of various grades and functions were appointed to 
superintend it, financial matters were adopted to support it, 
and buildings upon improved scientific plans were erected and 
supplied with all the appurtenances of scholastic requirements. 
These evidences of the appreciation in which education is now 
held among the people, are, however, only the machinery of 
the work, the moving power behind it all being the teachers. 
This power may be feeble or strong, fluctuating or steady, 
intermittent or permanent. Upon these conditions depends 
in a great measure the success of the whole. 

QUALIFICATIONS. 

Teachers must possess qualifications fitting them for their 
onerous yet delicate and responsible labors; qualifications 
that ought to blend so harmoniously as to make it clear to 
every observer that they, like artists, may be born, but can- 
not be made. The endowments for their calling are natural. 



J 6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

They can not be implanted, but may be cultivated and im- 
proved. 

Physical Qjialifications. 

A seafaring man may be ever so skillful a sailor, but if his 
ship is leaky, he is in danger of foundering in mid-ocean at 
any time, notwithstanding his excellent seamanship. This 
is precisely the case with many able teachers who have 
acquired knowledge and practice in their profession at the 
expense of their physical constitution; teachers who perhaps 
have been regardless of the kind of educational work for 
which their sex best fitted them. In either case disappoint- 
ment, enfeebled health, or premature death, cut short their 
educational career. 

Sex. — There is a mental as well as a bodily distinction 
between the sexes. The greatest amount of benefit can be 
realized only when these distinctions are taken cognizance 
of. Experience has demonstrated that, all other things be- 
ing equal, lady teachers will be far more successful in kinder- 
gartens and in primary grades than male teachers. The 
motherly instinct inherent in any true wom.an enables her to 
enter intuitively into the feelings, capacities, and wants of a 
child, far more readily than can a man, whatever be his pro- 
fessional skill. This natural disposition of women may de- 
generate into over-indulgence, which is a sign of weakness 
of character; or it may be supplanted by the assumption on 
her part, of an austerity which is the opposite of true fem- 
ininity. 

Girls should never be left without the guiding influence of 
lady teachers throughout all the stages of scholastic educa- 
tion. Boys, for similar reasons, prefer, and should have a 
male teacher as they advance in age and intellectuality. In 
the middle grades, or within the so-called eight grades of 
our school system, male and female teachers may labor with 
equal benefit to the pupils, although here in the upper 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. yy 

branches, the need of male teachers begins to make itself 
felt. 

In the higher educational grades, as for instance, high 
schools, colleges, academies, and universities, male teachers 
are preferable, except lady seminaries, boarding schools, and 
similar institutions, where lady teachers must of a necessity 
have the controlling influence. It is rarely the case that lady 
teachers in these higher branches of scholastic pursuits attain 
proficiency without losing much of that gentleness and 
genuine femininity which is so bright a star in the diadem of 
true womanhood. 

Age. — "A teacher never grows old," is a saying whose 
meaning in a figurative sense is true enough, inasmuch as 
his constant intercourse with the j'oung has a tendency to 
preserve his buoyancy of spirits much longer than would be 
the case in some other vocation. Nature, however, has 
limits 'beyond which the accustomed energies of mind and 
body begin to fail, and retirement from active work in the 
school room becomes imperative. In colleges and universi- 
ties, professors may continue much longer in their specialties 
as, in their case, the subjectivity of the teacher is secondary 
to the objectivity of the lecture. 

A great mistake is often made by engaging teachers ot 
immature age, that is an age below the eighteenth or 
twentieth year. It is not the only objection that such young 
persons rarely possess the requisite scholastic efficiency, nor 
that they have failed to acquire, as yet, that degree of discern 
ment and self-control so indispensible to teaching. These 
are deficiencies that cannot fail to impress themselves in a 
detrimental manner upon pupils. But aside from these evils, 
premature entrance into the educational field interferes most 
disastrously with the health of the young aspirant, inasmuch 
as it takes place at a period of life when nature can ill 
afford to have so large a portion of her energies deflected 



78 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

from the work of maturing the physical organization. Too 
many bright and promising young people have by this course 
contracted ailments that either obliged them to quit the pro- 
fession entirely, or that planted in their systems the germ of 
earl}^ death. 

The average period of a teacher's active work in the school 
room ought to be about forty years, that is from his twentieth 
to his sixtieth year, after which time his experience should 
entitle him to the more suitable labors of Superintendent or 
Principal, or at a more advanced age to a well earned, honored, 
and comfortable rest. 

Condition and Health. — It is not absolutely necessary that 
every teacher should be an Adonis or a Hebe as regards 
beauty, but it is certainly essential that he or she be no 
cripple. There have been teachers that were able by their 
great qualities of head and heart to make pupils overlook 
their physical infirmities, but such cases are of so exceptional 
a character, that it would not be safe, as a rule, for school 
authorities to run the risk of engaging teachers thus afflicted. 

Every teacher should be sure that respiratory, digestive, 
and nervous system be in a normal condition, and take care 
to keep ic so. Consumptive, dispeptic, and over-nervous 
people should keep away from the school room. A teacher's 
eyesight and hearing should not be impaired to such a degree 
as to prevent him from noticing everything of a disciplinary 
nature that may require his attention. 

The modulation of the voice according to the strength of 
the vocal organs, the accoustic properties of the school room, 
and the kind and duration of the work before him, are points 
which nature often calls attention to b)^ sounding the alarm- 
bell in the form of hoarseness, pain in the throat or chest, 
unusual fatigue at closing exercises. Headaches, loss of 
sleep, and impaired appetite are reminders, ordinarily, of bad 
ventilation. The ever-present danger of contracting consum- 



SCHOOL ANT) FIRESIDE. 79 

ption, that teacher's dreaded disease, enjoins emphatically 
the duty of observing conscientiously in his own daily 
habits, those hygienic laws which he is expected to teach his 
pupils. 

Mental Qualifications. 

The diversity of capacities and dispositions among pupils, 
the variety of exercises, the everchanging and often unex- 
pected incidents of school life, place before every teacher, 
tasks which require a constant presence of mind, untiring 
versatility, an inexhaustible fund of information, and the 
patience of Job. To meet these requirements, a teacher is 
expected to possess 

General Information.— T\\Q^ school is a step preparatory 
for practical life. Success in life can be achieved only by 
knowledge and control of all the forces that bear upon one's 
sphere ot action. The teacher, therefore, as one who pre- 
pares pupils for life, must aim to develop them in both these 
directions, that is, he must furnish the minds of his pupils 
with requisite information, and create in them power. To do 
this well he has to put himself in possession of mental resources 
that will enable him to meet every emergency of school life. 
For instance, the newspapers of the day furnish his pupils with 
endless material for interrogations in regard to persons of 
note, politics, war, science, literature, art, mechanism, and 
kindred subjects; there are historical incidents to be explained, 
inventions to be described, geographical items to be illustra- 
ted, philosophical propositions to be expounded, marginal 
remarks to be given on the subjects contained in text and 
reference books, and incidental questions to be answered 
that pupils may bring from home. 

Then, too, the teacher may be called upon to hold his own 
in some intellectual company, where the conversation turns 
upon the leading topics of the day. No teacher can afford 
to be less than a well informed lady or gentleman in the true 



8o SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

sense of the term; for any deficiency in the stock of general 
information which every lady or gentleman of standing is ex- 
pected to have at command, would detract from his or her 
influence and reputation not only in society but also in 
school. 

Special Information. —Kx^xow^ or along side of the branches 
of study which constitute a teacher's curriculum, and in 
which he is expected to have acquired a certain degree of 
proficiency, there should be at least one that stands out 
prominently as his favorite study. This need not be one 
having direct bearing upon his school work at all. It may 
be literary, scientific, artistic, or mechanical, but there should 
be one. In the pursuit of that favorite study, the mind 
draws inspiration for renewed energies in the routine of the 
daily duties, which, without such a stimulus, might easily 
become drudgery. By it, the mind plants its foremost stake 
on the line of intellectual progress, and in it finds solace and 
recompense for "the spurns that patient merit from the un- 
worthy takes." 

When, however, the pursuit of such a favorite study en- 
croaches upon the legitimate work of the school; when it 
absorbs the attention of the teacher so as to cause him to 
neglect his preparations; when his mind becomes so engrossed 
with it that he harps upon it constantly before his pupils, 
and interpolates remiarks concerning it in his regular class 
work, then it has degenerated into a hobby, becomes a 
nuisance, and exposes him to ridicule, disgust, and censure. 

The habit of many teachers of having in all recitations 
their text books constantly before them, and of following 
them mechanically, line after line, is most reprehensible as 
it prevents the pupils from bestowing upon the teacher that 
confidence for superiority of knowledge without which all 
teaching becomes a mere trifling with time. A faithful 
teacher prepares himself for his lessons in respect of the sub- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 8 1 

ject matter as well as of the best method of handling it. 
Even if he has treated the subject several times before, he 
looks over the ground again, that new points may present 
themselves for the benefit of his class. Therein lies the secret 
of the success of many teachers. Experience can not be 
obtained in any other way. A teacher's own notes and mode 
of expression are preferable to the repetition or reading of 
the words of any text book. Text books ought to be re- 
garded only as sign posts that show the way along which 
the teacher is expected to lead his pupils. 

Practical Ability. — Practical is often confounded with 
natural ability. While the latter is an inborn disposition, 
capacity, or inclination for certain spheres of thought, and 
may remain dormant for want of opportunity to develop, or 
become perverted for want of proper training, the former 
can be obtained only by hard work. Wherever we find a 
successful and experienced teacher, we have before us one 
who has gained his success by hard work and perseverance. 
No success in life was ever gained in any other way, for, 
"There is no royal road to excellence," as the proverb has 
it. I can not forbear, on this occasion, to remember with 
feelings of affection and admiration, the great number of my 
beloved students of old in the Brigham Young Academy, who 
by this very course have already attained distinction in the 
church, in the educational field, in legal or medical profes- 
sions, in literature, in commercial pursuits, and in the less 
ostentatious but not less important obligations of the family 
circle. 

Modes of Exaviining and Ascertaining Efficiency. — Teach- 
ing has its principles, laws, rules, modes of operation, and 
technicalities, the same as every other profession. There is 
a wide difference between the understanding of a subject and 
the capacity to teach it. There are amateurs and profes- 
sionals in science, art, literature, mechanical pursuits, and 
in fact in every vocation and sphere of human activity. 



82 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

But the work of an amateur can be distinguished at a 
moment's glance from the work of a professional, as for in- 
stance, in painting, where the violation of the laws of per- 
spective or the harmony of colors at once betrays the novice. 
There are also amateur teachers. Many people entertain the 
idea that they could as readily teach a school, or at least tell 
how to do it, as they could inform an editor how to conduct 
his newspaper to better advantage. An amateur teacher's 
work can be recognized in a few moments. 

Since the establishment of Normal schools, however, the 
people have commenced to appreciate the value of well 
trained teachers, and are solicitous of securing their services. 
For this purpose, boards of examination have been estab- 
lished in order to ascertain the ef^ciency and qualifications 
of candidates for the office of teacher. As in the case of 
physicians, these qualifications are of two kinds, viz: theo- 
retical and practical. Both are essential and inseparable. 
In regard to the former, the certificates or diplomas of 
graduates from Normal schools may give the board some 
general idea of the fitness of the candidate; which conception 
they generally endeavor to make clearer by an examination 
conducted according to certain sets of questions or proposi- 
tions. The full bearing of these questions is often unknown 
to many examiners themselves, and consequently the criti- 
cisms made upon the answers are very frequently subject to 
just protests. Such examinations do not, therefore, always 
constitute a just criterion of a teacher's efificiency. There 
have been teachers with first class certificates or diplomas, 
well versed in all the branches in which they were examined, 
who proved utter failures in the school room, through the 
lack of those disciplinary qualifications which constitute the 
practical part of teaching; while others, not so brilliant perhaps 
in their attainments, proved to have the very soul of the art 
of teaching within them, and raised their school to a high 
degree of efficiency. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 83 

The first requisite for a successful examination is to be 
found in the fact that the teacher has so trained himself, by 
a long series of self-examinations, both in theory and in 
practice, as to make it impossible for any examiner ever to 
be so exacting- toward him in justice, as the teacher has been 
with himself. 

The next point for every teacher is to ascertain which 
grade and what kind of work he is best adapted for by nature. 
While some teachers would make a grand success in one 
grade or in a certain line of teaching, they would fall short 
or prove failures in another. One grade in the educational 
scale is as essential as another. Your place once ascertained, 
study for it, work for it, devote )'ourself to it, and all exam-, 
inations concerning it will become to you a mere formality. 
Whether you have chosen the primary, the kindergarten, 
the intermediate, or some specialties in the high school or 
the collegiate grade, — shouki make no difference in the ardor 
with which you apply yourself, all are equally honorable, and 
deserving ot your best effort. 

The prevailing modes of examination of teachers are open 
to several objections and should be modified and improved 
as the conditions of the people improve and the spirit of the 
age advances. Thus the need for the annual recurrence of 
examinations, if such need there be, is unworthy of the pro- 
fession; and if it be needful for the few, it is certainly an un- 
necessary annoyance for the many. Teachers that, after one 
year's labor in the school room, can not satisfactorily pass 
another examination granting them lite certificates for their 
respective grades, ought to withdraw from the profession. 
Such examination should, however, take into serious con- 
sideration, the work done during the probationary year; for 
the results of such practical work is equal to any theo- 
retical knowledge the teacher may have as exhibiting his 
fitness to teach, and should, therefore, constitute one-half 



84 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

of the consideration for the final decision of the examining 
board. 

MORAL QUALIFICATIONS. 

The tendency of our public school system toward the 
almost exclusive development of intellectuality and technical 
skill is observable also in the manner of selection of teachers. 
As long as no public offenses against morality are chargeable 
against a teacher, only his professional qualifications are, in 
the most instances, matters ot concern to the examining 
board. It is a different matter with the teacher himself 
No professional ability will secure him permanency in his 
position if his mental qualities are not supported by a strictly 
moral character. Pupils weigh their teachers in the infallible 
scale of natural intuition, and size them up very correctly as 
a general thing. This necessitates much self-investigation 
on the part of the teacher, that he may not only seem to be, 
but actually be, what he desires his pupils to regard him. 

/;/ Regm'd to Self. — A teacher is not only a lesson-giver 
but a trainer, and as such ought himself to possess those 
qualities of character which it his duty to develop in his 
pupils. To make this possible he must, like the artist, have 
an ideal. This ideal is his better self, which, in order to 
approach nearer and nearer the real, must become the mov- 
ing principle of his whole life. He can never reach it in this 
stage of mortality, but still he must steer toward it. The 
mariner is guided by the stars of heaven, although he does 
not get there with his ship. 

Self-control and self-denial in discipline are qualities with- 
out which no teacher can ever hope to be more than a mere 
"master of the school," — one that may have the power of 
saying: "Go, and do that or take the consequences;" but he 
will never become a teacher in the noblest sense of the term, 
— one whose whole character says with irresistible eloquence 
to the hearts of his pupils: "Come, and follow me." 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 85 

In Regard to Pupils. — Mutual confidence and affection 
between teacher and pupil, is like the genial climate of some 
heaven-favored land, where vegetation yields an abundant 
harvest as a reward for the labors of the husbandman. A 
teacher ought to carry within himself the elements for these 
conditions. He must love his work and his pupils. As 
nothing can grow without sunlight, so nothing can prosper 
in school or fireside without love. Teaching only for the sake 
of the pa}^ that is in it, characterizes the hireling. The true 
shepherd has something higher to work for, something that 
will come to him "after many days." Knowing that he can 
not expect to reap what he has not sown, he brings confidence 
and affection with him into the school room, sowing them 
carefully and cautiously into well drilled soil, waters the 
choice plants, carefully weeds them, and is rewarded by see- 
ing them gradually grow, grow tall and vigorous and fruitful 
all around him. Those principles of honor, truth, integrity, 
and virtue which animate his own whole being, he illustrates 
to his pupils with such a spirit as convinces the young hearts 
of the genuiness of his convictions, and causes them to feel 
the warmth of the fire burning within him. 

Reproving students for want of punctuality when he him- 
self happens to be late occasionally, or of disorder at their 
desks or on their books and utensils, when his own desk and 
things are in no better condition; reminding the children of 
the necessity of cleanliness, when the teacher himself appears 
in the school room uncombed, clothes torn or untidy, shoes 
dirty, and his whole appearance slovenly; admonishing them 
to observe good manners, when he himself violates before 
the children the principles that regulate the conduct of 
every true gentlemen — are inconsistencies often found in 
schools and are not only detrimental to the teacher's influence 
and usefulness, but prove also injurious to the rising genera- 
tion. 



86 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

In Regard to Parents and Authorities. — Experience has 
shown that frequently faithful and otherwise efficient teachers 
fail to gain the sympathy and support of school authorities 
and patrons. The explanation of this apparently inconsis- 
tent state of affairs is to be sought outside the school room. 
Some teachers, it appears, are always in hot water with 
some of the school authorities, either for financial reasons, or 
on account of some imagined or real personal slight, or they 
have becom.e sensitive over some criticism that a member of 
the board or the superintendent has ventured regarding their 
work. On the other hand, teachers have been found in the 
same localities and under similar conditions enjoying the 
fullest approval and support of the authorities without any 
sacrifice of their interests or dignity. 

It cannot be denied chat the composition of school author- 
ities is sometimes very heterogeneous, on account of the 
mode of their election. Especially has this been the case in 
the past. There have been "boards of education" to whom 
Schiller's word v/ould have been applicable, when he said : 
"With stupidity even the gods fight in vain." But those 
days are past; and now if some man of that old stripe should 
find his way into a school board, here or there, it should only 
suggest to the teacher the necessity of practicing more than 
ordinary discretion and diplomacy. If he finds snags and 
sand-banks, let him learn to steer with greater care. Above 
all, let him not show that petulancy which comes of being 
too sensitive. A teacher, like all other public servants in 
this country, from the President of the United States to the 
constable in a country village, has to stand the cross-fire of 
public opinion. 

Som.e other dangers, however, lurk alongside of the 
teacher's path, — dangers that are of a more subtle but no 
less injurious nature, and require all the solidity and firmness 
of character that the teacher may have at his command. I 
refer to his intercourse with the parents of his pupils. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 87 

Financial difficulties with parents, especially in the nature 
of obligations, ought to be avoided by the teacher at almost 
any cost, if he value his reputation and influence in the school 
room. 

To communicate with parents in regard to their children 
forms one of the essential features of a teacher's mission, as 
by it scholastic and domestic education can arrive at a mutual 
understanding and work for a common end. But this course 
requires tact and delicacy. Most .parents have very sharp 
eyes for the faults of their neighbor's children, but are com- 
paratively short sighted in regard to their own, especially so 
when such faults are pointed out by some one else. The 
teacher's reputation for impartiality and his tender concern 
for the well being of his pupils, ought, therefore, to be so 
well established as to procure for his suggestions this desired 
* consideration on the parents" part. 

/// Regard to the Public. — There is a great amount of gossip 
going on, especially in smaller communities, and a teacher 
that suffers himself to be drawn into such a vortex by taking 
sides, will rarely emerge unscathed. Let him keep clear of 
all gossip circles. Like mariners of old, he must acquire 
the difficult feat of steering safely between Scylla and 
Charybdis. So running carelessly into debt in the comm.unity 
where his lot is cast, will undermine his social standing with- 
out which the permanency of his position becomes exceed 
ingly questionable. 

One more piece of fatherly advice I feel like giving my 
young fellow-teachers, whether male or female, and this is 
in regard to love affairs. It is an acknowledged fact that 
most young unmarried teachers of either sex are generally 
great favorites in the community, and as such are sought 
after and overwhelmed with invitations. Many of these in- 
experienced young people have had cause to lament, when 
too late, their mistake in making themselves too cheap by 



88 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

accepting every invitation, or being seen at every public 
entertainment or party, or playing the role of a society man 
or woman. Neither time nor reputation will permit young 
teachers to indulge in these extravagances. 

It is natural and proper for young people to fall in love 
for the purpose of getting married. But no conscientious 
teacher will choose the opportunities of the school room for 
his conquests, nor conduct his love affairs in a manner that 
will furnish choice morsels for the gossips of the town. 

STANDING OF TEACHERS. 

In the early settlement of our people in these mountain 
regions, when every available hand, young and old, male and 
female, had to be called into requisition for the procuring of 
shelter, food, and clothing, school affairs were a matter of 
secondary consideration. Anyone that had a little "book- 
learning" and could not or would not find some other employ- 
ment, was considered good enough to "take up school" for a 
term or two. What wonder, then, that often otherwise 
sensible people looked upon the school room labors as mere 
makeshifts, — temporary means of securing a living until some 
more substantial job could be secured. That was the time 
when some of us had to go around with wheel-barrows on 
Saturdays to collect our "fees." There were some among us, 
however, that toiled on with the assurance in our hearts 
that our labors and our hopes would not be in vain. We 
looked forward to a time that we could rather feel than 
see was coming, when we would be able to exclaim like 
Simon of old, "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." 
Let not the new generation of teachers, then, look with dis- 
paragement upon the labor of Utah's educational pioneers; 
labors that were performed with many sacrifices, with devoted 
fidelity, and only too often amidst suffering and pain of the 
heart. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 89 

Grades of TeacJicrs. 

As is the work so must be the workers, different according 
to the kind and grades of teaching. The term higher and 
lower grades, employed to signify a difference in grade, are 
unfortunate and misleading. They create an unjust impres- 
sion in the popular mind as regards the value and importance 
of different positions. 

The true educator, keeping in view the whole educational 
field, is at a loss to decide which period or stage of develop- 
ment most needs his tender care, or to which he should 
assign the palm of greater responsibility. He can no more 
do this consistently, than a true mother can make odious 
distinctions between her older and her younger children, or 
than a husbandman can assign different values to the seasons 
from seed time till harvest. 

The success attending teachers in the primary and inter- 
mediate grades, often has a tendency to inspire them with a 
desire to qualify for teaching specialties in the academic 
grade. These aspirations are exceedingly praiseworthy on 
general principles, but care should be taken in every instance, 
that the aspirant possesses the natural adaptibility for such a 
course. Experience has demonstrated the fact, that some 
teachers while remarkably successful in one kind of educa- 
tional work, fail in another, notwithstanding their untiring 
efforts. The educational field is too wide for any one indi- 
vidual to become an expert in every department of it. Try- 
ing to be everything in general, leads too often in being 
nothing in particular. Every teacher's motto in regard to 
such matters should be, "Know something ot everything, and 
everything of something." There is more honor in success 
as an elementary teacher, than in failure as a professor. 

There really are but three grades of teachers, namely: the 
primary, the intermediate, and the academic. Specialists 
rank according to their work with any of these grades, al- 



90 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

though all teachers of the academic grade have to be special- 
ists, more or less, in consequence of the nature of their 
work. 

To these last mentioned should belong exclusively the 
title of "Professor." Teachers of any other grade can not 
use this title without laying themselves open to the charge 
of vanity and silly pretention. There is no more honorable 
title in our profession than that of teac/ier, and to be re- 
cognized as such has always been the ambition of true edu- 
cators. 

The grave mistake entertained among the people, and acted 
upon by many school authorities, that beginners in the pro- 
fession are good enough for the primary grade, has done much 
to retard the progress of education among us. The work of 
making the first impression upon the child's mind in regard 
to school life, and of giving the little one a correct start in 
observation and self-activity, should be entrusted to skillful 
hands. Inexperienced teachers may be employed to far 
better advantage as assistants until they have gained some 
practice. 

Much has been done toward elevating the standing of 
teachers, professionally as well as socially. Through the 
medium of normal training, a more efficient class of teachers 
as a whole is taking the field. Teachers' Institutes bring 
educators into wholesome contact with one another. Edu- 
cational papers diffuse the best thought of the world on edu- 
cational subjects. Our school system provides for official 
visits of Superintendents and Principals to the various grades, 
departments, and classes. All these factors are elevating the 
profession. Then, too, the demands upon a teacher's mental 
capacities in a general way, have become so exacting and 
multifarious, that it is next to impossible for mediocrity to 
attain a recognized standing and hold it in his respective 
grade for any length of time, and this fact tends to encour- 




is 



o « 






rt a. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 91 

age only the brightest minds to enter the courses of our 
normal colleges. 

Duration of Service. 

One of the evidences that our educational system has, as 
a whole, emerged from the primitive conditions already 
alluded to, is found in the fluctuating and unreliable mode of 
teachers' engagements. The prevailing custom of engaging 
teachers. only for a term or two, at best for one school year, 
necessitating reorganization every year, and making the 
school a matter of open competition, is against the best in- 
terests of education in more than one way. This procedure 
may have to be continued until, out of the promiscuous crowd 
of teachers that perambulate annually from school to school 
like strolling actors, worthy and efficient material can be 
sifted for the purpose of establishing a permanent faculty. 

The way toward the attainment of this "consumation 
devoutly to be wished" is clearly before us. Limited en- 
gagements should serve the purpose of probationary periods. 
Whatever length of time be decided upon, be it one or two 
years, it should be entered upon with the mutual understand- 
ing that if satisfaction be given, it is to be followed by a 
longer engagement, five years, for instance; and then with 
the same understanding, a permanent engagement should be 
effected subject to termination only by mutual understand- 
ing or for cause. 

This would give efficient teachers an opportunity not only 
to arrange their domestic affairs with some assurance of per- 
manency, but would also enable them to build up a control- 
ling influence in the formation of the character of the rising 
generation in that locality. The formative process of charac- 
ter-building is of necessity a slow one, requiring patience, 
foresight, discernment, knowledge of environments, and 
mutual confidence between teachers and pupils. This feature 



92 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

of educational work has thus far been left mostly to the home, 
school authorities having- taken it very little into considera- 
tion. It now clamors for recognition, however, and will 
continue unceasingly to clamor until the beneficial effect of 
greater permanency in teachers' engagements be fully 
realized. 

Remuneration. 

Since the demands of m.odern education upon the teacher's 
formal as well as incidental and general qualifications have 
increased to an unprecedented extent, the preparation for 
the educational profession has become correspondingly more 
difficult, of longer duration, and consequently more expen- 
sive. Teaching has assumed an honored place among the 
learned professions. Amateur and "makeshift" teachers are 
being rapidly pushed to the wall and will become an "extinct 
species." Man)^ young people, aspiring to educational lionors, 
constantly drop off during the ordeals of normal training, and 
only comparatively few reach triumphantly the portal of 
graduation. 

It seems to be ordained in the dispensation of Providence, 
that while the pursuit of theoretical studies during college 
life shall be stimulated bv vouthful enthusiasm casting its 
roseate hues over the otherwise fatiguing process, the merci- 
less censor of practical life shall, on the other hand, cause all 
fanciful anticipations to shrink into insignificance before the 
stern reality. Every teacher has passed through such an 
experience to a greater or less extent and perhaps remem- 
bers with sadness the cases of some of his former fellow- 
students, who, after having finished successfully their normal 
course, succumbed to the trials, annoyances, and dissapoint- 
ments encountered at their entrance upon the educational 
field, and, completely discouraged, abandoned a profession 
for which they seemed eminently qualified. Thus, year after 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE 93 

year, talents are lost to education, whose places are not 
always filled by their equals; and so a large portion of che 
field has yet to be "let out" and "farmed out," as it were, to 
such as the schools would better be without. 

"Why is this thus?" 

The answer is: "It is a question of dollars and cents." 

Great credit is due, all things considered, to the people of 
our State for their efforts in working up a system of public 
instruction that stands so high in the educational scale of 
our great country. The educational provisions in the Con- 
stitution of the State of Utah, are destined to rise still higher. 
This remark refers chiefl)-, however, to the matter of school 
buildings, furniture, and other appropriate appurtenances, 
and to some extent to teachers' salaries. 

Although fine, commodious, and well equipped school 
houses are requisite for a successful school, the teachers, it 
must not be forgotten, cire the soul of the school. There 
have been schools which, though furnished with all the equip- 
ments of modern education, have fallen short of the requisite 
standard. On the other hand, schools without such advant- 
ages, have not only come up to the mark, but even surpassed 
it. The degree of efficiency of the respective teachers caused 
all the difference. 

In the first case it appears that the financial resources of 
the school district had been exhausted or over-drawn by the 
erection of comparatively elaborate school buildings, and 
economy had to be enforced in consequence. The first step 
toward it was the reduction of the teachers' salaries to the 
lowest possible figure. Not even the proprietor of a liver)/ 
stable would conduct his business upon so ruinous a principle. 
How long could he do 'ousiness if he should try to save the 
expenses of splendid stables and magnificent coaches, by 
stealing the oats from his horses.'' 

There is another point connected with this subject that 



94 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

has thus far escaped the consideration of school authorities 
and the people, and yet it involves a question of fairness and 
equity in reference to the rising generation. It is, namely, 
the fact that larger and consequently wealthier communities 
can secure, in the main, the brightest and most efficient 
teachers by being able to offer them better terms This 
leaves the children of less favored localities at a disadvant- 
age. But as not all able teachers can be supplied with posi- 
tions in cities, some are obliged to shift about from place to 
place, trying to better their condition; and this helps to keep 
up that fluctuating condition which is so detrimental to real 
educational progress. 

The children of one region ot country are as good as those 
of another, and equal education, like the air we breathe, 
should be accessible to all alike. I suggest, therefore, that, 
wherever an efficient teacher has been engaged, and mutual 
satisfaction is the result, his salary be raised proportionately 
to his power, and according to the length of his service, say, 
every five years. This could be effected with comparatively 
small efforts by allowing an additional annual stipend from 
the district or municipality after the first five years, from the 
county another one after the second five years, and from the 
State after the third five years; and all of them be continued 
until the termination of the service, which might be closed, 
under given circumstances, with a life pension from the 
State. 

This plan appears at first sight complex and difficult of 
execution, but will be found upon closer examination to be 
very simple and expedient. The cases of teachers entitled 
to such stipends will always remain comparatively small, 
and will decrease rapidly as the latter periods are reached. 
There is also the other advantage of a financial nature that, in 
consideration , of this prospective increase, the salaries of 
teachers need not be very high in the beginning. Trust- 




D.4-1 



a.— 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 95 

worthy and efficient teachers will accept low salaries in the 
start, if they have the assurance of a definite increase and 
steady engagement. This plan of employment would thus 
be a stimulus to teachers and a guarantee to the people, that 
faithful service would be rendered. 

As a Mcvihcr of the Profession. 

The intellectual and moral training, as well as the nature 
and aim of his calling, have had the tendency to create cer- 
tain characteristics by which a teacher may be easily distin- 
guished from every other class of people in his general 
appearance and way of saying and doing things. His constant 
intercourse with the young, while it enables him generally 
to retain the buoyancy of his feelings and intellect beyond 
the average limit of mankind, may yet cause him to appear 
occasionally in public as too naive in his expressions, and 
his proverbial modesty is likely to be taken for want of firm- 
ness and moral courage. Good teachers, you know, are like 
good school houses; they are only to be compared with 
themselves, and should not be used for anything else. 

The habit of giving, in and out of season, the conversation 
a professional turn by entering upon subjects, which, how- 
ever interesting to the speaker, may be of comparatively 
little interest to the rest of the company, has been charged, 
not entirely without reason, to the teacher's profession. This 
habit of ''talking shof is likely to stamp any man as "a 
bore", and to expose him to ridicule and unwelcome slights. 
Enthusiastic teachers will have to guard themselves against 
this unconsciously growing habit, which is often taken as a 
sign of vanity or over-bearing self-consciousness. 

As in all nature like cleaves to like, so among teachers 
there is a bond of sympathy which makes their profession, as 
a whole, a living, animated, and reciprocal unity. There is 
thus a commendable ''esprit dc corps'' developing among the 



g6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

teachers of our land which inspires them to stand by one 
another for the sake of intellectual progress, professional 
advancement, and mutual support. 

For the greater furtherance of these interests it would be 
wise for teachers to form associations, independent of the 
already existing teachers' institutes. Such organizations 
would strengthen the members of the profession collectively 
as well as individually. Teachers in several European 
countries have for many years already united in forming 
societies for the establishment of "pension funds," "widow's 
and orphan's funds," "sick funds," etc., and have thereby 
largely contributed to the greater appreciation of their pro- 
fession. 

Considering all the requirements, duties, and responsibil- 
ities, connected with the teacher's profession, every candid 
person will admit, that the profession, pecuniarily at least, 
is yet, in the main, far behind a condition that would be 
commensurate with its merits. A true teacher, however, 
remains not without his reward. Like that ancient sage, who, 
when landing naked from a shipwreck, exclaimed to the 
other survivors who sat about lamenting the loss of their all: 
"Omnia mecum!" meaning that he carried his all within him- 
self. A true teacher finds his chief reward in the conscious- 
ness of laboring for the good of mankind and for the glory of 
God. He clings to the divine promise given in Holy Writ: 
"Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after 
many days." 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 97 



CHAPTER IV. 



Children. 



In all paintings of Reubens there is one central figure 
to which the eyes of all others are directed and to which the 
perspective of the whole converges, so in education with all 
its history, aims, persons whom it affects, organizations, etc., 
there is one part that constitutes the focus, as it were, and 
that is the child. 

Child-study is the magic wand by the touch of which the 
often apparently mysterious and ever changing phenomena 
01 child life can be solved, and the lines of demarkation de- 
fined along and within which these fluctuations occur, so 
that a rational basis for the proper treatment of the youth 
can be established. The first of these lines is 

AGE. 

Each of the three periods of human life with which educa- 
tion has mostly to deal, namely, infancy, childhood, and 
adolesence, presents such marked characteristics that parents 
and teachers are obliged to take cognizance of them and shape 
their treatment of them accordingly. 

While helpless infancy should find in the parental care its 
most favorable opportunities, childhood extends its little 
sphere of activities beyond the fireside into the school room; 
and adolesence is approaching the threshold of independent 
responsibilities. These stages of development fliow, how- 
ever, imperceptibly into one another so that it is not possible 
to say when one ends and another begins. Neither can 
the modes of treatment be regulated by any systematic 
schedule. 



98 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

From the moment of entrance into the state of mortality, 
the loving solicitude of parents and friends surrounds the 
child and vouchsafes the well being of the little one, as best 
it can. This condition of things has been so ordained by an 
allvvise Creator, and pervades all animate nature. Experi- 
ence and custom step in to assist in the execution of nature's 
promptings, and the first scenes in life's wonderful melo- 
drama are enacted. 

But experience and custom are sometimes very unsafe 
guides through the labyrinthian realms of child-life, so that 
child-study, the only means whereby custom and experience 
may be corrected, becomes an imperative duty both for 
parent and teacher. The first step in this really sublime 
work is the cultivation ot a capacity to place one's self in the 
way of feeling and thinking like a child. In this way only 
can we enter into its little life, see as it sees, hear as it is 
likely to hear, and comprehend its fancies, follow its reason- 
ings, and find out its motives. These activities are continu- 
ally changing, as age advances, and body and mind develop, 
but they are never like those of mature years. A course of 
education, whether in school or at the fireside, which neglects 
these cautions must be faulty in proportion to such neglect, 
and will be productive of unsatisfactory results. The proper 
study of mankind is man. The proverb is as true as it is 
trite. Let us not forget, that part of the life of mankind is 
infancy. 

Much has been done by way of reducing our knowledge 
concerning the treatment and care of infants to sound prin- 
ciples, principles by which parents, nurses, and all concerned, 
may be guided. Books, educational periodicals, lectures, 
Normal training. Kindergarten work, and various orders of 
ladies' associations, are constantly engaged in diffusing more 
light upon this important subject. The results of these efforts 
are observable, in general, not only in the improved physical 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 99 

condition of infants, but also, — and this is especially due to 
the adoption of the kindergarten methods in families — in the 
mental development of the little ones by which the prepara- 
tion for the coming school life is greatly facilitated. 

With the ages of childhood and adolesence the mental 
faculties become more predominant and demand an ever-in- 
creasing attention in which the efforts of the fireside must be 
to a great extent superceded by those of the school. Each 
stage of this development has its own kind and style of work, 
of thought, and of expression, and to select the most appro- 
priate channels for these stages of activity, constitutes the 
mastership in education. It matters not on which round of 
the ladder in this work an educator may be stationed, if he 
has the capacity to grasp the situation and to operate in con- 
formity with it, he demonstrates his mastership, and the re- 
sults will follow in logical sequence. 

Attempts to introduce a style of expression beyond the 
age and capacity of his pupils indicates the teacher's vanity 
and superficiality. On the other hand, the stooping down 
to expressions below the intelligence and age of his pupils 
exposes a teacher to their contempt and ridicule. Selections 
of work either above or below the age and capacity of his 
pupils demonstrates the teacher's lack of judgment, to say 
the least. 

SEX. 

The principle of sexuality pervades all nature. From the 
positive and negative manifestations of electricity and mag- 
netism, through all the stages of the plant and animal world, 
to man, the crown of creation, its scope of influence reaches 
even beyond mere physical structure and functions, as it con- 
ditions the mental and moral life as well. This fact ought 
never to be lost sight of by philosophers, politicians, and, 
least of all, by educators. The educator finds himself con- 



lOO SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

fronted by a basic condition that demands recognition at 
every step in the progress of his philanthropic work; for a 
neglect of nature's injunction in this regard would result in 
corresponding failure or serious mischief. The difference of 
the sexes in regard to treatment may not be very marked in 
the stages of infancy while the child is yet under the sole 
care of mother or nurse, but with the entrance upon the 
second period, the so-called childhood, differences begin to 
appear rapidly in dispositions, inclinations, and capacities, 
requiring an ever-increasing attention on the part of parents 
and teachers. Child-study has to deal now not only with 
physical phenomena and wants, but also with the awakening 
of the mind, which is gradually taking possession of the organs 
of the body for independent use, and making itself known at 
once as a male or female mind by its preferences in play. 
The lasting impressions and influences of play, and conse- 
quently, their educational value, are too often under-estimated 
by parents. 

The Creator gave to childhood imagination as a guardian 
angel by whose finger-touch a little stick with a rag around 
it is to a girl transformed into a beautiful doll, a doll into a 
living baby, and to a boy, a broomstick bestrided by his 
little legs, becomes a horse, and to both, a sandpile is in- 
stantly changed into a mountain with houses, gardens, and 
dark caverns. This beautiful gift of God to childhood, should 
be turned by parents and teachers to the best account for the 
children's good. 

Many attempts have been made to assist imagination in 
its irrepressible promptings by the invention of toys and 
playthings of endless variety. The most of them fall short, 
however, of any educational value in as much as they can 
appeal only to the curiosity of the child for a short time and 
having once satisfied that, are thrown away by the little ones 
as useless. Anything that gives imagination a chance to act. 



SCHOOL AND FIBESIDE. lOl 

be it only a mudpile. is preferable to the most costly thing, 
which can only be looked at and nothing more. Ficture 
books made alive by some explanatory story, unpainted 
building blocks ot various sizes and forms, admitting of all 
manner of combinations, dolls with changes of attire, wooden 
horses, tools, and, in short, anything that may give the child 
a chance to cultivate observation and self-occupation is a 
better help in home education than many parents seem to be 
aware of. 

The most gratifying development thus far known in this 
part of the educational work is found in Froebel's Kindergar- 
ten system. Although it is tolerably certain that this system 
will be recognized by and by as indispensible to school life, 
it is not yet within the reach of every community. Endea- 
vors ought to be made, therefore, to get as many of its beau- 
tiful points introduced into our schools and homes as circum- 
stances may permit. Kindergarten songs, games, and stories 
ought to be domesticated at every fireside that is illuminated 
by the presence of children. Teachers of our public schools 
should consider it part of their work to facilitate the intro- 
duction of kindergarten methods into the homes of the peo- 
ple. Such a course would be a worthy and pleasing pre- 
paratory step for the work of the primary school, in as much 
as these exercises have a tendency to cultivate the powers ot 
observation, memory, and self-activity. 

It will be observed that from about the sixth to the four- 
teenth or fifteenth year, girls, all other things being equal, 
are readier in comprehension, easier in expressing their ideas, 
and clearer in appreciation of what is good and beautiful, 
than boys. The animal spirits of the latter are as yet out- 
side the control of a suf^ciently cultivated will power, and 
are, therefore, constantly interfering with the intellectual 
and moral development, thus preventing boys from keeping 
an even pace with the girls. 



I02 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Some teachers in overlooking this psychological fact, are 
guilty, ocassionally, of grave injustice by giving undue credit 
to female pupils to the detriment of the male portion of 
the school. Such mistakes not only recoil frequently upon 
the teacher with painful effects, but may also engender in 
the hearts of his pupils undue vanity on the one side and 
discouragement and bitterness on the other. 

With the approach of more mature years, the intellectual 
and moral development of each sex begins to follow well 
defined and distinct lines, which, however distinct from one 
another, are yet parallel in such a manner as to exclude any 
claim of superiority of one over the other. 

Now is the time when parents and teachers ought to have 
a clear comprehension of the ultimate aims and destiny of the 
respective sexes. Both may continue to study together, as 
they have done in the lower grades. In fact, the continua- 
tion of the so-called "Mixed system" or co-education is to be 
urged for various reasons, the chiefs of which are, the whole- 
some restraint, which they exercise upon each other, and the 
emulation excited by the desire of each sex to appear in as 
favorable a light as possible in the eyes of the opposite sex. 
Man and woman, however, have to operate in different 
spheres of activity. One can never be substituted success- 
fully for the other without sacrifice of some of the noblest 
features that distinguish each sex from the other. 

The focus of woman's activity ought to be the home and 
family circle, from which, as from a safe anchorage she may 
extend the sphere of her usefulness and influence into as 
wide circles as her capacities and circumstances may permit. 
She may follow some occupation or profession, in the arts, in 
literature, in medicine, in education, etc., but any extension 
of her activities at the expense of her domestic virtues and 
duties, and at the sacrifice of the prestige of true and noble 
womanhood, would be too dearly paid for. - 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 103 

These considerations make it essential to have young 
women brought up, if not under the exclusive, at least under 
the controlling, influence of lady teachers or guardians, and 
above all, of mothers. There should be attached to every 
school, whether of the common or higher grade, some lady 
teacher, or a matron, to keep in touch with the girls; for 
there are things to be seen t<o in every school, that are beyond 
the direct reach of a male teacher. 

The man's sphere of activity extends far beyond the home 
circle, in fact, the greater part of his life's work lies outside 
of it. He should gather from the outside the honey of com- 
fort and prosperity and bring it into the hive of his home; 
but the establishment of a sphere of usefullness, reputation, 
and influence for the good of society at large, ought to con- 
stitute the chief portion of his life's work. Professional as 
well as general information and efficiency, reliability of char- 
acter, self-reliance, etc., are necessary requisites for the 
successful man of business, trade, or profession. 

These qualities must be cultivated at the paternal hearth 
and in school. Lady teachers may be successful with boys 
up to ten or twelve years of age, but after that age boys and 
young men need the guidance, instruction, and above all, the 
example of male teachers. A mother's influence at the home 
will be forever a guiding star to a true boy, but in school the 
young man recognizes authority that differs from him only 
in degree, but not in kind. 

Of the higher branches of education, girls may study to a 
great advantage language, literature, music, fine arts, physi- 
ology, especially with hygienic application, psychology, 
especially in its relation to child-study, natural and domestic 
science, history, geography, etc. Boys, on the other hand, 
would find, besides the studies just mentioned, in higher 
mathematics and its applications, as for instance astronomy, 
engineering, etc., a field more suitable to them than to girls. 



I04 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

Manual labor, appropriate to the respective sexes, should 
constitute an essential part of all home and school education; 
for education can never be considered complete until this is 
judiciously attended to. The education of the hand, is as 
essential to the wellbeing of any man and woman, as the 
education of the head and the heart. 

PHYSICAL CONDITION. 

Although it is not to be expected that parents and teachers 
should possess a physician's acquaintance with the human 
body, enough physiological knowledge, however, ought to be 
at their command to enable them to understand clearly, and 
treat judiciously the countless varieties and incessant fluctu- 
ations of physical child life. Intuition, custom, and ex- 
perience, may guide mothers to some extent in their treat- 
ment of infants, but the rapidly increasing complexity in the 
development of the young lives presents phenomena that 
require a careful study, not only as to the cause and general 
influence, buc also as to the most suitable way of dealing with 
them. 

Foremost among such phenomena are those conditions 
that are comprised under the head of "physical constitution." 
There are children of a robust body, whose digestive, res- 
piratory, circulatory, and nervous systems are in perfectly 
normal condition, while again others are subject to tempo- 
rary or chronic disturbances in one or several of these 
functions. Parents and teachers should be sufficiently 
acquainted with hygienic principles governing such matters 
and be guided by them. The trite saying, that prevention 
is better than cure, becomes an educational law, the violation 
of which is too often fraught with serious consequences. 
Requiring the same amount of endurance in physical labor or 
in mental strain from a pupil whose constitution is affected 
by indigestion, nervous disorder, feeble lungs, or general 
prostration, as from the perfectly healthy child, would be an 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 105 

act of gross injustice, and might be conducive of serious con- 
sequences, even to the shortening of life. Physical culture, 
gymnastics, baseball games, and college atheletics, if kept 
within legitimate limits, are features calculated to counteract, 
in a general measure, the enfeebling tendencies of our modern 
educational systems. 

The sense of sight is one of the most precious gifts of the 
Creator, and yet by far too little attention is paid to the 
preservation and cultivation of it. What is the cause of so 
many spectacled boys and girls as are to be seen in our larger 
towns and cities.'' If this phenomenon should keep on in- 
creasing at the same ratio as it has begun, we would have, 
by and by, a generation of short sighted people with a multi- 
tude of blind scattered among them. Is it the fault of school 
rooms where the light strikes the eyes, either from the right 
and left at the same time, or from the right altogether, or, 
worst of all, from the front alone.' Is it the neglect of some 
teachers who permit pupils to read or write without con- 
sideration of their natural focus.'' Is it the too lengthy home 
lessons which must be worked out by inadequate lamp-light.'* 
Or is it the continuous change between day, lamp, and 
electric light, that in our larger cities would make the posses- 
sion of feline eyes a desirable commodity for man.-* 

Color-blindness, either partial or complete, prevails far 
more among the youth than even some teachers are aware of. 
Practice in color discerning, by object-lessons, should be fre- 
quently attended to at home and in school. Periodical exam- 
inations of the e5'e sight by some experienced person should be 
held in every school from the lowest to the highest grades, 
so that the young people could be properly advised and 
directed in this important matter. 

Next to the eyesight the sense of hearing is another im- 
portant factor in educational work. Ignorance of the fact 
that there is a great deal of partial deafness among children, 



I06 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

is the cause of much injustice to them on the part of many 
parents and teachers. The former are often inclined to re- 
prove or punish children for supposed disobedience, forget- 
fulness, or carelessness, and teachers charge pupils with in- 
attention or dullness, when the fact is, thai a defect in hear- 
ing had prevented the child from understanding distinctly 
what was said. It is not particularly loud talking that is 
needed, as the sound is heard plainly enough, but distinct 
articulation of the consonants, and especially of consonants 
at the beginning and end of words. Some ears are more 
susceptible to one pitch or key of voice than to another. 
Teachers ought to cultivate a normal pitch of voice, as near 
as possible to their own natural key, and in conformity with 
the acoustics of the schoolroom, so that pupils of slow or 
difficult hearing may accustom themselves to that pitch and 
be able to follow with clearer understanding. 

A frequent cause of defective hearing is catarrh, brought 
on by cold feet. Children coming to school in winter, for 
instance, after having waded through snow, slush, and water, 
their shoes, stockings, and lower parts of their clothing soak- 
ing wet, are often required to sit at their desks with the wet 
feet in the cold atmosphere near the floor, while the upper 
space of the room is hot. The reverse should be the case. 
Colds and catarrhs, and sometimes far more serious conse- 
quences ensue. Nature, then, gives the danger signal by 
causing coughing to be heard in various parts of the school- 
room; the teacher should take the warning and attend to the 
case at once. I have had children take off their shoes and 
stockings and sit around the stove until all get dry and warm. 
Much of the prevailing defect in hearing can be prevented by 
proper care of colds. 

The boxing of ears, or blows on the head, as punishment 
for offenses, whether inflicted by parents or by teachers, are 
most criminal, and deserve the severest censure without any 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 07 

mitigation. I have had pupils whose misfortune of hard 
hearing- could be traced back to such cruelty inflicted, some- 
time or other, either at home or in school. 

Another point of careful consideration for educators pre- 
sents itself in the growth of children. Whenever parents or 
teachers notice in a child an abnormal growth in length with- 
out proportionate physical development in other directions, 
must they not take it for granted, that the child will be cor- 
respondingly weak in will-power, concentrativeness of pur- 
pose, steadiness, perseverance, and moral courage.^ These 
deficiencies instead of being recognized as organic, are often 
punished as if the child could help them. The most frequent 
course, but also the worst one, is ridicule, scolding, depreci- 
ating comparisons with other young people more fortunately 
organized, even chastisement for slight offenses arising from 
this physical condition. An India rubber band, if drawn out, 
must naturally become thinner in proportion to the length. 
This is precisely the condition of the nervous and muscular 
system of overgrown children. Give them good food, plenty 
of exercise, and kindly treatment, and nature will make it all 
right by and by. 

There is another class of unfortunate children, however, 
upon whom the unstinted sympathies of parents and teachers 
should be bestowed. I refer to the crippled and deformed. 
A sympathy that should not be merely personal on the part 
of the educator, but should be of such a magnetic force as to 
influence the whole family or school with like feelings and 
course of action. I have in mind the case of a young man 
whose limbs had been deformed from childhood, so that he 
had to crawl upon his knees. After he had been refused ad- 
mission at several educational institutions, on account of his 
infirmity, he presented himself at the B Y. Academy, Provo. 
Here teachers and students vied with each other in tender 
consideration toward him in his efforts to get an education. 



I08 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

That young man, after several years of successful labors in 
his chosen avocation, died with blessings upon the institution 
that gave him a chance for obtaining a respectable livelihood, 
and left these blessings of gratitude as a sacred heritage to 
his family. 

The physical conditions of a child maybe either hereditary 
or the result of accidental influences. In the former case 
parents are reminded of the great responsibility resting upon 
all men in regard to their posterity. The responsibility is 
enjoined upon humanity in the decree of Jehovah, that "He 
will visit the sins of the fathers on the children unto the 
fourth generation of them that hate me." Which teacher 
has not seen evidences of this terrible fact among the child- 
ren under his charge? Aside from the w^orkings of heredity, 
there may be, however, also other influences bearing down 
upon young lives, even before birth, preventing their little 
bodies from developing according to the beautiful and fault- 
less designs of the Creator. Nature, if not interfered with 
in her operations, makes no mai-formations, deformities, or 
cripples. What care, solicitude, and constant watchfulness 
toward children is, therefore, required of parents and teach- 
ers, in order to give Nature a chance to develop the grow- 
ing bodies according to the noble design of an allwise Creator, 
so that they can fill the measure of their creation upon the 
earth! 

MENTAL CAPACITIES. 

According to the theory of some evolutionists, all faculties 
of the mind are only operations of physical forces, which 
view reduces psychology to a mere branch of physiology. 
The utter helplessness of the new-born infant and the very 
gradual awakening of its perceptive faculties seem to sustain, 
at the first glance, such a proposition. But closer analysis 
leads to the conclusion that the five senses are mere means 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 09 

for the conveyance of impressions. Behind the physical 
mechanism is a receptive, conscious, and directing mind that 
is endeavoring to familiarize itself with the use of the organs 
ot sense and motion, as an apprentice begins to handle tools 
and instruments placed before him. Mind is not the product 
of matter, but inhabits, premeates, and vivifies matter. On 
entering the body, it brings along capacities that raise the 
new born infant, notwithstanding its apparent helplessness, 
far above any of the most advanced animal species. 

How did that mind come into possession of capacities en- 
titling it to such possibilities.^ Did these capacities originate 
with the mind itself during the embryonic period.'' If so, the 
mind with its wonderful capacities would be the result of the 
physical process of conception, and would have to terminate 
with the e.xhaustion of the forces that started them both into 
activity. 

That is the theory of evolution. There is, however, a 
grander view of the case pointed out to us by the voice of 
Revelation. 

The mind or spirit entered into this mortal sphere from a 
previous state of existence known to the Latter-day Saints 
as our "primeval childhood." Our condition in this .world is 
as much the natural consequence of the course pursued in 
our previous existence, as the life hereafter will be the natural 
consequence of the course pursued during mortality. This 
great principle of pre-existence contains the keynote to the 
doctrine of predestination or rather pre-ordination. God 
never acts arbitrarily as some sectarians would have us be- 
lieve, but the shaping of every man's destiny is largely by 
his free agency in his own hands. Many fall short of it 
though, or miss it entirely, by neglecting or abusing those 
endowments and gifts which an allwise Providence has placed 
at their disposal. 

Teachers and parents ought to watch closely the awaken- 



no SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

ing of the mental faculties of their young charges, for the 
bent of these powers may be taken as an index of their life's 
mission. 

Perceptive Faculties. 

The gradual development of the so-called perceptive facul- 
ties, is the first sign of mental activity in child life. These 
faculties involve mental operations. The eye can no more 
see for itself than a telescope can become conscious of the 
grandeur of the starry heavens which it reveals to the observer. 
Both eye and telescope convey pictures and only pictures, 
so the ear conveys sounds, and other organs their appropri- 
ate impressions. It is the spirit behind the scenes that takes 
cognizance of all these things, giving each its appropriate in- 
terpretation. 

The child notices at first only the difference between light 
and darkness. Recognition o forms and faces follow soon 
after. Differences in color are not recognized so early. In 
regard to hearing, only loud and low sounds, that is, the 
extreme in sound, make much impression, the former having 
a disturbing, the latter a rather soothing tendency upon the 
child. The direction whence sounds come, remains, lor a 
long time, undefined in the mind of the infant. Voices are 
not distinguished till a much later day. The sense of feeling 
is very acute, but painful and pleasurable sensations are 
alike forgotten as soon as they are past, there being no 
memory as yet to assist in their retention. Taste and smell 
are very slow in taking a part in the physical or mental 
operations of the young life. These defects in early percep- 
tion are not on account of imperfect development of the re- 
spective organs, for they are as perfect now as they ever will 
be, but in conseqence of the inexperience of the mind in 
handling them. 

Mothers know intuitively how to assist their infants in 
using the perceptive faculties. By moving the finger or some 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 1 1 

other object before the eyes of the child, the mother teaches 
it the sense of direction; by singing and speaking words of 
endearment, she habituates it to recognizing her voice and 
gradually to distinguish it from that of other persons. Sharp 
contrasts of light and darkness, sudden and piercing noises, 
rude awakening from sleep, and impatient shaking in vexa- 
tion, ought to be carefully avoided; for such untempered 
changes may be productive of serious disturbances in the 
physical organism of the child, and are also apt to plant into 
the yet partially slumbering mind, germs out of which may 
grow a fruitful crop of evil dispositions and tendencies. 

Froebel, by introducing the Kindergarten m.ethods into 
the educational system, has become a benefactor to the 
human race. Neither parents nor teachers can afford to re- 
main ignorant of this beautiful aid in education. By it the 
mental faculties receive a systematic and judicious training 
during the first period of their development. The eyes learn 
not only to see but also to observe; the ears are made 
acquainted with the beautiful in sound; the organs of motion 
become obedient to a mind capable of useful or entertaining 
self-occupation; and the whole body is taught to grow more 
graceful and buoyant. 

Imagination. 

Through the symptoms of dreaming by the infant, parents 
are first made aware that a higher faculty of the mind has 
begun its operation. This is Imagination, the angel of child- 
hood, by the touch of whose wand the most common objects 
are surrounded with the halo of fairyland. (See page lOO.) 
This faculty, aerial and intangible though it maybe, is never- 
theless of vast importance by rendering an assistance to the 
educator without which his best efforts would prove futile. A 
great mistake is often made in supposing that a child looks 
upon things and ideas presented before him, in the same 
light as do his instructors. It never does so. Happy the child 



1 1 2 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

whose imagination illuminates his conceptive world with the 
roseate hues of purity, affection, and hope; for the germs of 
virtue, intelligence, and spirituality, find in that kind of light 
their most favorable condition for sprouting. Blessed the 
parent or teacher who has discovered the key to the language 
of child-thought and is enabled to enter the charm^ed circle 
where Imaginatiom waits to surrender to him her sway, as 
he shall gently lead the young mind to the comprehension 
of the realities of life. Powerful and absolute in its domina- 
tion. Imagination, of all mental faculties, is still the most sus- 
ceptible to evil or good influences. A word, a look, yea, 
apparently the most insignificant thing or occurrence, is often 
sufficient to cast over the heart ot a child a lasting shadow 
under which prospects for good may wither, or evil germs 
find a fostering condition. 

T/ie Affections. 

The next mental faculty in order of development is affectio7i. 
It will be observed that infants but slowly extend their in- 
terest beyond their own individual wants. They are of 
necessity intensely selfish, and hence the saying, that all babies 
are little savages. But this selfishness discovers by its very 
intensity those sources from which it derives its gratification; 
it extends a longing desire toward them and establishes 
thereby an interest in something beyond' self. Thus is opened 
the channel of affection. From mere gratification of physical 
wants is evolved pleasure which pre-supposes some degree 
of mental activity. This is followed by appreciation of kind 
acts. By smiling, cooing, and offering baby-kisses in return, 
the child establishes an interchange of feeling between itself 
and others. Thus is engendered an affection, which may be 
cultivated by proper education into love for fellowmen and 
love to God. A heeedless kick may destroy a little sprout, 
that might have become a mighty oak had it been given a 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 1 1 3 

chance to grow. So also may the first beginnings of affec- 
tion be destroyed by ignorance, rudeness, or carelessness 
and the child forced to develop into the mentally crippled 
conditions of selfishness, misanthropy, or cruelty. 

Memory. 

The next mental force making itself felt in the process of 
infant development is vicmory. It is a somewhat passive 
faculty, in as much as it is engendered only by frequent 
repetitions or marked force of impressions. Facts of memory 
may be compared with the figures of a chromo. Their dis- 
tinctness and completeness depend upon the number of im- 
pressions by which they are imprinted upon the mind. Cul- 
tivation of habits at the fireside, and frequent repetitions of 
the lessons in school, are the indispensable means of strength- 
ening the memory. Whatever has been deposited in the 
memory, remains there, although lost sight of, perhaps, for a 
long time. Strong emotions, occurrences on the mnemo- 
technic principle of association of ideas, dreams, or old age, 
may bring to light again long forgotten memories, proving 
thereby, that these facts had remained unobserved in the 
memory, like dust-covered books on the shelves of a library, 
or old photographs stored away in the attic. 

Recollection. 

If memory can be compared with a library containing all 
kinds of books, papers, documents, and prints, arranged with 
more or less order, recollection, the next mental faculty in 
order of development, would be the librarian, who ought to 
know at a moment's notice where to find any required object 
on his catalogue. The cultivation of recollection is one of 
the essential features of domestic as well as of scholastic 
education. By far the greater part of all educational effort 
is the conveying of facts and the training in their applica- 



114 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

tion. Knowledge of facts is stored up in the memory, but 
recollection is called upon to furnish the requisite data for 
the process of application. 

This exquisite faculty constitutes by tar the greater part of 
what is commonly called knowledge, and can be cultivated 
to a degree comparable to the facility with which an expert 
pianist handles the keys of his instrument. Stored up in 
the mind are data in regard to persons, things, ideas, places, 
times, etc., that can be brought up with a spontaneity surpas- 
sing comprehension. Many theories have been advanced to 
explain this interesting phenomenon, but thus far with not 
very satisfactory results. 

Methods for cultivating the power of recollection are a 
matter of greac importance in domestic and scholastic 
education. It is not to be expected that every parent and 
teacher should be conversant with the science and art of 
mnemonics and try to make second Reventlows of his pupils, 
but exercises for the purposes of "strengtheningthe memory" 
are indispensable, especially in the early stages of scholastic, 
domestic, professional, and business education. Later on, 
too much "memorizing" is rather detrimental than advan- 
tageous to mental progress. Great thinkers in science as 
well as in business, instead of burdening their minds with 
the ballast of statistical or other technical data, consult tables, 
dictionaries, encylopedias, notes, etc., for the desired infor- 
mation. 

The capacity for recollection is greatly diversified accord- 
ing to the physical organization of the individual. Threnol- 
ogically speaking, this capacity seldom extends harmoniously 
over all the various organs of perception in the brain. For 
instance, localities, names, dates, figures, forms, etc., are sel- 
dom recalled with equal vividness. Parents and teachers ought 
therefore to make it their object to discover any specially 
pronounced capability or defect in this regard, and instead of 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. I i 5 

paying undue attention to an already well developed ten- 
dency, should rather endeavor to cultivate those parts in 
which recollection appears to encounter great difficulties. 
Scolding, censure, or other such means of correction are not 
only useless but absolutely unjust, for the educator is con- 
fronted by an organic deficiency rather than by a willful 
neglect. 

Will-Pozver. 

With the awakening of self-activity in the infant, a power 
begins gradually to make itself manifest which not being as 
yet under any intellectual control, appears and subsides 
spasmodically, and is known variously as self-will, stubborn- 
ness, humor, contrariness, "spunk," etc. Its real name is 
zviU-poiver. The degree of strength or feebleness, continuity 
or fickleness, of this quality constitutes, as the child advan- 
ces, the timber, as it were, which the individual seems to be 
made of. It may be like the willow, soft and pliant, or like 
the oak, strong and durable, or like intermediate woods, 
illustrative of various grades of strength and, consequently, 
value. 

This quality is the foundation of what is commonly under- 
stood by the term of "character." Realizing the fact that 
no other mental qualification, whether inherent or inculcated, 
can take the place of this important power of the soul, parents 
and teachers should recognize in the cultivation of the will 
one of the foremost educational problems. Between the 
necessity of enjoining obedience to given instructions and 
the cultivation of free agency, is a long series of ps}^chological 
considerations, all of which stand in so close a relationship to 
one another that, as in the case of the rainbow colors, it is 
difficult at first sight to determine where one ends and the 
other begins. A judicious training in the former contains 
within itself the elements of the latter; for wise education in 
school as well as at the fireside knows how to transform the 



Il6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

imperative "Thou shalt" of the training in obedience to the 
beautiful "I will" of the striving for free agency. The high- 
est aim of true educaiion lies in the endeavor to cultivate the 
head, heart, and hand, in the knowledge of and in the volun- 
tary obedience to the laws of the True, the Good, and the 
Beautiful, for therein consists the heaven-inherited right of 
free agency. Sin, ignorance, and coarseness are moral and 
intellectual defects and exclude the complete exercise of free 
agency. 

Methods of the cultivation of will-power are treated under 
the head of "Discipline." 

Un d erst a n di ng. 

All knowledge consists of concepts which the mind has 
formulated out of impressions originally received through 
the senses. The conscious reception of these impressions by 
the mind is a mystery yet unsolved. We find ourselves here 
at the confines of the physical and at the border line of the 
psychical nature of man. The correctness, completeness, 
and distinctness of all concepts depend upon the capacity for 
attention and observation. The former is an exercise of will- 
power, the latter of intellect. In regard to the former, parents 
and teachers must watch the eyes of the children in order to 
know it their attention is fixed upon the subject under con- 
sideration. Wherever their eyes are there is their mind. 
Hence the saying, that children hear better with their eyes 
than with their ears. Observation is the power of concen- 
tration of thought upon an object; even as rays of light may 
be focused by a sun-glass. A painter takes in at a glance 
more points of detail in a picture than some people would be 
able to discover unaided in a lifetime. A musician hears 
beauties in a composition of one of the masters that may re- 
main hidden forever from an uncultivated ear. A well edu- 
cated mind may form multitudes of sublime concepts by 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. II7 

listening to or reading a discourse suggestive of deep thought 
and noble sentiments. 

Impressions are the prepared, concepts the digested, food 
of the mind, and therefore, pure or impure, healthy or un- 
healthy, strong or feeble conditions of the mind depend upon 
the food which it receives and digests. Herein lies a solemn 
warning to parents and teachers to watch carefully the im- 
pressions which are made upon the young minds under their 
charge; for out of those impressions grow the concepts 
that constitute the mental, moral, and spiritual capacities of 
the human being. Evil habits, false and erroneous ideas, or 
wrong principles, may develop out of concepts formed in 
early youth, and produce a harvest to be reaped in tears. 

Flippant conversation, trashy literature, obscenity in any 
form, unguarded or questionable society, and over-indulgence, 
are the most widely prevailing evils that education has in- 
cessantly to contend against. Too many parents, instead of 
being the natural allies of the conscientious teacher are, in 
their blind affection for their children, prone to side against 
him in this warfare. The writer, like many others of his 
fellow teachers, could enumerate many instances of this kind 
out of his own experience. 

Concepts thus formed do not, however, remain isolated 
and disconnected in the mind, but, according to the law of 
association of ideas, group themselves in a more or less sys- 
tematic manner, and by the law of generalization, give rise 
to another process, that of forming conclusions. These con- 
clusions are concepts of a second stage of development, in as 
much as they are not formed directly from impressions re- 
ceived through the senses, but are the offspring ot already 
existing concepts. Thus concepts of persons, plants, play- 
things, food, clothing, etc., are grouped and generalized in 
the mind according to certain characteristics observed by 
the child. All dogs, for instance, may be called doze %vozvs, 
cattle moo moos, etc. 



1 18 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

During this stage, likes and dislikes are formed. Curios- 
ity is the same phenomenon in the mental life that appetite, 
hunger and thirst, are in the physical life. Curiosity causes 
the child to take things to pieces in order to find out what 
they are made of or what there is in them. If this tendency 
is not properly taken charge of and directed from the begin- 
ning, it is liable to degenerate into wanton destructiveness. 
The latter always proves educational neglect. 

Imagination interferes at this time considerably with the 
simple process of forming conclusions. Parents ought to 
direct this tendency into proper channels by telling.stories, 
the morals of which lie within the conceptive powers of the 
child. Then imagination will be an assisting instead of a 
disturbing element in the process of forming conclusions. 

At this stage of mental development, the child begins to 
ask questions, innumerable and often perplexing. To get 
impatient at these manifestations of the spirit of inquiry, 
which appear under the guise of mere curiosity, would be a 
serious mistake, as such questions are mostly the result of 
some process of observation and concept-forming. The child 
is really seeking assistance in the process of drawing con- 
clusions. Every friend of childhood should be always ready 
to furnish as nearly as practicable the desired information, 
and thus contribute to the child's store of ideas and facilitate 
its progress in thinking. Teachers in school should uphold 
the principle that questions on the part of the pupils are 
always in order. To rebuke a child for asking for informa- 
tion on any legitimate subject, is one of the least excusable 
mistakes a teacher can be guilty of. 

Reason. 

This mental capacity enables the child'to draw conclusions 
from given premises or concepts. This principle can be 
carried on in three different ways, adapted to every child in- 
tuitively according to the nature of the case. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. II9 

I. — The process ol forming conclusions in regard to the 
effect or result of a known cause, or its reverse, the tracing 
of a known effect to its appropriate cause. The former is 
called a priori reasoning, the latter a posteriori. For in- 
stance: The child is diligent in its lessons because it con- 
cludes that this course will procure it a good education. This 
is (T //'/^r/ reasoning. On the other hand, it sees that its 
teachers and other people are well educated and concludes 
that these people must have studied hard in their youth. 
This is a posteriori reasoning. 

2. — The synthetic process is the endeavor to construct 
from a single fact a whole series of conclusions, while its 
opposite, or the analytical process, leads the child to discover 
from a known series of facts some missing link in the chain, 
as it were. Illustration: The child follows the synthetic 
process when it constructs, in kindergarten exercises, houses, 
bridges, and other objects, from its pile of sticks, blocks, 
etc., and reasons analytically when it is taught to name or 
describe the different parts of anything. 

3. — -The inductive method of reasoning consists in draw- 
i'''g ^ general conclusion from one or more particular facts. 
The opposite or deductive method, is the application of a 
general statement to a particular case. The former process 
is illustrated by a child concluding, that, as it is required to 
love, honor, and obey its parents, so all other children ought 
to do the same. The deductive process would be well illus- 
trated in a child seeing all other children doing a certain 
thing, should it conclude that it ought to do the same thing 
also. 

DISPOSITIONS. 

Among the variety of factors which should govern the 
modes of treatment of a child in order to assist it in obtain- 
ing the greatest amount of good from education, the disposi- 



I20 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

tions demand their full share of consideration. Dispositions 
are based mainly upon the condition of the nervous system and 
may in their origin be either accidental or inherited. Parents 
and teachers have to make it their earnest study to obtain a 
clear comprehension of the nature and origin of the disposi- 
tions of the children under their charge. Dispositions give 
tone, color, and quality to all other capacities of the child, 
stimulating here or retarding there; smoldering occasionally 
or breaking forth in volcanic fury. They are like the weather, 
difficult of prognostication for the uninitiated, but serving as 
pointers to the close observer and judicious educator, just as 
an expert mariner watches the rise and fall of his barometer 
and other premonitory signs or takes the winds and the 
seasons into his calculations. 

Dispositions are sometimes embraced in the general term 
of temperament. Philosophers have made several classifica- 
tions of temperament, the most common being the phleg- 
matic, the melancholic, the sanguine, and the choleric, with 
several subdivisions. This classification can not claim, how- 
ever, an absolute superiority over others. The difference of 
classification is mostly that of nomenclature, at least so far as 
practical educational purposes are concerned. While tem- 
peraments of the phlegmatic and melancholic kind need more 
stimulating efforts, those of the sanguine and choleric kind 
require occasionally a check combined with incessant watch- 
care. A driver must exercise greater care in the manage- 
ment of thoroughbreds than of a quiet and steady-going 
team. 

The idea of ' 'breaking a child's temper" is a pernicious one. 
You may "break the temper," but you will spoil the child. 
A temper that might have promised, under proper treatment, 
to develop into characterful energy and mental force, may, 
when "broken," assert itself in occasional fits of energy, which, 
lacking continuity, are destined to become unreliable and in- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 12 1 

effective. Such unfortunate characters, crippled and stunted, 
are in danger of becoming morose, distrustful, or what is 
worse, given to lying and deceit. The writer could quote 
instances of this truth coming from institutions noted for the 
severity of their discipline. 

If dispositions are inherited, still greater wisdom, patience, 
and kindness are required gradually to train and modify them 
so as to make them subservient to noble purposes and in 
harmony with the other qualities of a cultured mind. 

ENVIRONMENTS. 

If the various conditions which point out the mode of treat- 
ment of children have been considered thus far from the 
standpoint of the child itself, one other condition is yet left 
for our consideration, a condition that is outside the child, 
and consists in its environments. 

The various phases of environment belong, so to speak, to 
the department of foreign affairs in the republic of education. 
An experienced teacher accordingly recognizes in them strong 
factors, which, marshalled as auxiliaries, may become powerful 
aids, but neglected, are likely to turn into formidable antag- 
onists. 

Seasons. 

To arrange the general plan, the daily program, and the 
kind and number of studies in such a manner as to use the 
exhilarating temperature of the cooler seasons for the heavier 
drafts upon the physical and mental powers, is a test of master- 
ship in the educational profession. The necessary relaxation 
of the summer months should be turned to account by a sys- 
tematic distribution of leisure, recreation, favorite studies, and 
preparation for the next season's work. 

Politics. 

The present condition of American politics being recog- 



122 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

nized by every thoughtful educator as injurious to the true 
interests of education, it is the duty of every teacher and 
parent to watch carefully the rising storm clouds on the 
political horizon and take such precautionary measures as will 
prevent his charges from being carried away by the tempest 
of political passion. For a teacher himself to assume the 
unenviable role of pronounced partisan in school would be 
sacrificing the sacredness of his mission, polluting the sanc- 
tity of the schoolroom, and betraying his public trust. A 
thorough acquaintance with the questions of the day, and an 
impartial representation of them to his pupils, is what each 
one of them has a right to expect from him. 

Loca/iitj. 

Locality has also much to do with the spirit and mode of 
treatment of the young, i Although natural endowments are, 
as a rule, independent of locality, the conditions of city life 
and that of the open country are so widely different, and ex- 
ercise so varying an influence upon mental and moral devel- 
opment, that parents and teachers have to consider these con- 
ditions in their requirements, expectations, and modes of 
treatment. Children growing up amid the surroundings of 
city life with its endless varieties of impressions created by 
persons, things, and incidents, have their powers of observa- 
tion for good or evil developed in quite a different direction 
from that of children living among the comparatively mo- 
notonous surroundings of the country. The perceptive lacul- 
ties of the latter often stand in need of stimulation, while 
those of the former often require not only careful direction 
but even a restraining mode of treatment. 

Social Condition. 

There is one environment which demands extreme delicacy 
of treatment in many instances. This is the social standing 
of pupils. While on the one hand a teacher may make him- 



1 i \h 






f \ 



' ! i 




do 




US 






^0- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 123 

self liable to the severe charge of snobbish partiality for the 
soically better favored children, he may miss it as to the others 
by a course of boorish rudeness towards pupils accustomed, 
though poor, to an atmosphere of domestic refinement. 
Parents of the so-called higher classes, or of the financially 
more-tortunate, are often inclined to engender, by precept 
and example, a certain aristocratic spirit that induces their 
children to consider themselves above their fellow-pupils of 
poorer families. This grave mistake causes a reaction in the 
form of discontent with the existing order of things, and 
hatred against the "upper classes," which feelings are ex- 
tremely apt to widen the natural breach between the rich 
and the poor, between labor and capital, and threaten to 
bring forth, in the next generation, a harvest of griefs and 
sorrows for both parties. Teachers, that are not mere 
"lesson givers," will recognize in these conditions a great 
problem, the solution of which depends largely upon their 
wise and faithful efforts. 

Denominations. 

The religious, or rather denominational condition, of a 
community or of a particular family, is one of the most power- 
ful agencies in the formation of a person's fundamental prin- 
ciples of life. This formation has passed through its incipi- 
ent stages generally already in infancy. Every sincere parent 
desires his child to grow up in the religious convictions 
which he himself believes to be the truest and best for spirit- 
ual and moral growth and happiness. He can not, therefore, 
tolerate any interference with the religious principles of his 
children on the part of a teacher or anyone else. Teachers 
in public and in denominational schools ought conscientiously 
to guard against the violation of this sacred family right, 
however much their own views may differ from those en- 
tertained by some of their pupils. Even a contemptuous 



124 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

shrug of the shoulders, or a sneering remark about things 
which the children have been taught at home to hold sacred, 
are things which no wise or conscientious teacher will ever 
be guilty of before his pupils. 




ORGANIZATIONS, 



Education, in order to become more effective in its oper- 
ations, is subject to modes ot systemization the same as any 
other great principle of enlightenment and progress. Al- 
though systems vary according to the conditions of civiliza- 
tion, countries, times, localities, and purposes, there is 
observable nevertheless, a unifying tendency toward the 
attainment of ulterior aims; toward the adoption of a univer- 
sal system, containing within itself the elements that consti- 
tute that happy condition of mankind looked forward to by 
all of us as something to be realized in the Millennial reign. 

All modes, systems, laws, and endeavors in this connec- 
tion are, however, empirical and experimental, notwithstand- 
ing psychological foundations claimed by educators for their 
particular theories and the logical deductions therefrom by 
which they seek to build upon those foundations. 

Man will have to keep on experimenting and prospecting, 
so to speak, in educational systems and organizations, as well 
as in everything else mundane, finding "here a little and 
there a little, line upon line, and precept upon precept," until 
he commences to learn the language of that "still small 
voice" that teaches all truth, and to comprehend it so clearly 
that to him it will be a constant voice of revelation. 

The stars that have shone thus far upon the educational 
firmament from ancient times until these latter days, will 
then fade away in the light of the rising sun of eternal truth, 
and mankind shall have on earth an educational system 
such as is now already enjoyed by the children that are in 
heaven. 



126 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

CHAPTER I. 



Private Tutor System. 



There is no system known to us that has not its advan- 
tages and disadvantages. It is from this point of view 
that all representation concerning any system ought to be 
made. 

The Private Tutor System is the system according to which 
individual pupils may enjoy exclusively the privilege of a 
special teacher, either for a particular course of studies, sup- 
plementary or additional to public instruction, or for the 
entire field of elementary and preparatory education. Roy- 
alty and the aristocracy of birth and wealth indulge largely 
in this mode of education. In some instances the adoption 
of such a course is dictated by state policy, in others by the 
necessity of "catching up" for the requirements of a pending 
examination, while in still others nothing but snobbish vanity 
suggests the exclusiveness. 

Specialties in music, fine arts, languages, and all techni- 
cal accomplishments depend largely for their cultivation, 
as yet, upon tutor instruction, although efforts are being made 
to systematize instructions in these branches by the estab- 
lishment of special institutions for such purposes; as for in- 
stance, conservatories of music, polytechnic and agricultural 
schools, schools for domestic science and household work, etc. 
Private tutors, however, can never be dispensed with entirely; 
for conditions of localities, times, environments, and indi- 
vidual capacities and needs are diversified to such an extent 
as to make the establishment of a system dispensing with 
the necessity for tutorage in all cases, an absolute impossi- 
bility. 



I 




2io 



C j3 



'iiffiiiWU 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 12/ 

The great advantage of the private tutor system consists 
in the fact that the teacher is enabled not only to concen- 
trate his entire attention upon the comparatively few pupils 
under his charge, but also to arrange his subject matter and 
mode of treatment more in accordance with the individual- 
ities of his pupils. He can, moreover, study and influence 
the development of their moral and intellectual capacities 
with greater care, and can cultivate a thoroughness which, 
when equalled in public institutions, depends far less upon the 
teacher's efforts than upon the pupil's own resolution. 

There are some dark lines in this otherwise bright picture 
of private tutorage. In the first place, the selection of an 
efficient and suitable tutor is subject to so many eventualities 
that too frequently serious mistakes are made both in regard 
to professional efficiency, and what is worse, in regard to moral 
trustworthiness. In the former instance, much precious time 
is often wasted before the insufficiency of the tutor is dis- 
covered, and sometimes the discovery is not made until after 
time, means, and opportunities have been irretrievably lost. 
In the latter case the danger is greater yet, in as much as 
the evil influences of an immoral and untrustworthy charac- 
ter make themselves felt only when it is too late to repair 
the damage. 

Another serious drawback connected w^ith private tutorage 
is found on the part of the pupils themselves. Having but 
limited opportunity of comparing themselves in regard to 
effort and progress with other students of their grade, they 
are apt to fall into the error of self-sufficiency and conceit, 
which are conditions adverse to real progress, falling like 
mildew upon the soul, and hindering all mental growth. 
This unfortunate disposition in a pupil may be cured some- 
times by the painful shaking up which he is sure to get when 
he seeks entrance into a public institution of learning, or 
when he is brought in contact with the requirements of 



128 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

practical life; but in most instances che crippled condition of 
a self-conceited mind becomes chronic, — apparent in all its 
absurdity to everybody except to the unfortunate victim 
himself. 

Judicious tutors, therefore, take pains to bring their pupils 
into frequent contact with other students of the same grade, 
arousing thereby a spirit of emulation and presenting them 
with a common standard ot ef^ciency by affording them op- 
portunities for comparison. 

The private tutor system, taken at its best, can never be 
more than supplementary to public education, and must, 
therefore, remain subordinate to it, and, perhaps, it ought 
even to be made subject to it, to be regulated, systematized, 
and controlled by legislative enactments in the interest of 
the students as well as of the studies pursued. 



CHAPTER II. 



The Public School System. 



The gradual formation of a public school system consti- 
tutes, under its various forms and grades of development, one 
of the most important factors in human progress, and en- 
gages as such the earnest consideration of philosophers, 
educators, statesmen, patriots, and lovers of their race. The 
time has come when the educational interests will demand a 
lion's share of the labors of legislative bodies, and the largest 
canals from the main stream of a nation's revenues must be 
directed into the educational regions. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 29 

True to its Angelo-Saxon origin, the United States has 
kept apace with the Germanic and Scandinavian tamilies of 
nations in the matter of education, even bidding fair to take 
the lead by and by, if older nations do not make haste to 
emancipate themselves from the stereotyped forms of scholas- 
ticism. 

The survey for a grand educational system of the future 
has been made, the stakes are driven, and the work has be- 
gun in various sections, and so successfully too as to enable 
local operations to be carried on here and there on a small 
scale, while along the old roads temporary improvements 
stimulate thinking minds for renewed exertions. These ex- 
ertions will never cease any more, until the work is carried 
on along the new lines throughout. 

The vast progress made in the modes of public instruc- 
tions, in the laws for regulating them, in the financial sup- 
port extended to them, and in the devotion exhibited toward 
them, is a prophecy of a glorious future in which education 
is destined to perform an important mission for the ameliora- 
tion of the human race. 

Our own country is to be the standard bearer for that 
mission, and will, no doubt, discharge that duty with a faith- 
fulness worthy of her antecedents. 

There are. however, dangers lurking alongside the path 
leading to that glorious destiny, dangers which must be 
guarded against and avoided, and every teacher ought to be 
found in the vanguard to give the danger signal wherever 
needed. 

Broad as the laws are that regulate our public school sys- 
tem, they are by far, not yet perfect and their very liberality 
exposes them to divers influences for evil. 

Among the first of these evil influences \s politics. Politics 
is necessary and, therefore, good in its place, but in education 
it is a curse, pure and simple, every time. 



I30 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

To make the appointment of teachers and educational 
officers dependent upon party proclivities, is not only pre- 
posterous but actually injurious to the best interests of edu- 
cation. All good citizens of whatever political inclination 
should unitedly protest against such attempts and denouce 
them as treason against the welfare of the people. 

Professional fitness, intellectual as well as moral, should be 
forever the only criterion for officers and teachers. Upon 
this basis a public system of education may be built up that 
will invite the devotion of the best talents and noblest 
elements from among the people, and provide the rising 
generation with worthy examples of imitation, safe coun- 
selors, and wise leaders. Stability will take the place of un- 
reliable fluctuations characterizing our present educational 
affairs. The attainment of knowledge will be accompanied 
by a careful cultivation of character, which constitutes the 
best guarantee for the maintenance of the free institutions of 
our country; for with teachers of sterling character the v/aves 
of political turmoil and corruption will dash harmless against 
the steps of the educational sanctuary. 

Another danger threatens the healthful progress of educa- 
tion in our country, viz: the rapidly spreading epidemic of 
infidelity that at the present time under the new disguise of 
agnosticism is sweeping over the civilized nations of ihe 
earth. 

The unsectarian character of our educational system is a 
safeguard against attempts of any denomination to gain con- 
trol over the public schools of the land to the injury or ex- 
clusions of other beliefs. In thus carefully guarding pupils 
against sectarianism, the law but feebly protects them against 
the common enemy of all religion. 

To counteract the possible results growing out of the in- 
siduous influences exercised by infidel or so-called agnostic 
teachers, a negative provision, that no infidelity shall be 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 131 

taught in the public schools, has been incorporated into the 
school law. Just as well try to keep the chilling frost out of 
a flower garden by putting a rail fence around it. 

This great defect in our public school system can be 
remedied only by providing for religious instructions in some 
way. I respectfully suggest that the privilege be extended 
to every religious denomination of a district, to instruct in 
their faith their own children attending such school, at a 
certain hour every day, and under such regulations as the 
legislature and the local school board may prescribe. 

It is very questionable, however, that this proposition will 
meet with much favor just now, but it is a point that must 
obtain general recognition sooner or later. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. 

The history, aims, and present condition of this apex of 
the pyramidical structure of our public school system, is best 
illustrated by subjoined extracts from a contribution to "The 
American University Magazine," of June, 1895. 

THE UJ^IVERSITV OF UTAH. 



Jiy George Q. Coray.B. 8. C, Librarian of the University. 

"A good history of the University of Utah, when such shall 
be written, will be a pretty good philosophical history of the 
Mormon people up to this date. At the beginning of their 
colonizing labors, they acquired the excellent habit of asso- 
ciating inseparably the problem of education with the serious 
questions of government, religion, and the practical affairs of 
life. With Brigham Young, the recognized founder of the 
commonwealth, higher education was almost a mania. His 
first notions on the subject, as they have been handed down, 
indicated clearly the bent of his mind, and what the charac- 
ter of his labors might have been had he lived a little later 
in the Territory's history; they showed that he believed in 



132 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

education as a necessary auxiliary of both government and 
religion. Notwithstanding the fact that his own educa- 
tional acquirements were extremely meager, he had measured 
pretty accurately the power of knowledge over ignorance, all 
else being equal, and his transcendent ability was recognized 
by men of learning. 

Under such leadership, it might almost be assumed that 
the scheme of a system of higher education in Utah was co- 
existent with the arrival of the pioneers, which was, indeed, 
the signal for the beginning of civilization in the great 
West. 

On the sixth day after the first arrival the ground for the 
Salt Lake Temple, since errected at a cost ot several millions 
of dollars, was solemnly located and set apart, and the gen- 
eral plan of the city as it now stands was decided upon. 
Though no specific mention of the University has been dis- 
covered in the scraps of record and tradition preserved from 
that eventful week, subsequent actions of the great pioneer, 
whose energy and genius were the mainspring of the whole 
marvelous performance, prove conclusively that a scheme of 
education such as had never before been attempted was in his 
mind, and must have had a place in the original plan. On 
this point, it is enough to say that three months after the 
resting of the pilgrims from their wilderness expedition, a 
school was in successful operation for the instruction of 
children; and among the first documents which Brigham 
Young signed, as head of the provisional government of the 
new commonwealth, was an act incorporating *'The Univer- 
sity of the State of Deseret." This was done February 28, 
1850, about two years and a half after the arrival of the 
pioneer company. By the terms of this charter, the said 
University was to be located in Salt Lake City, and was to 
receive an annual appropriation of $5,000 from the public 
treasury. The control of the institution was invested in a 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. I 33 

chancellor and a board of twelve regents, to be elected an- 
nually by the Legislature. A treasurer was likewise chosen. 
An indication of the importance which the founders attached 
to these offices appears in the provision requiring the chan- 
cellor and regents to qualify with a bond of ten thousand 
dollars each; while the bond exacted from the treasurer was 
in the sum of one hundred thousand. It is quite evident that 
whatever of frailty or incapacity may have manifested itself 
in the earlier progress of the institution, there was no spirit of 
trifling amongst its designers. The same Legislature which 
created the charter elected a chancellor, and a board of re- 
gents. The first meeting of the regents was held March 13, 
1850. At this session, a committee was appointed to offici- 
ate with Governor Young in the selection of a site for the 
permanent home of the University, and also to choose loca- 
tions for "primary schools," to operate as feeders to the 
"parent school," as it was called. 

The first opening of the "parent school" seems to have 
been effected in the fall succeeding its incorporation, a begin- 
ning which for meagerness of detail might also compete with 
the first opening of Harvard or Yale. But the whole story, 
so far as the designers were concerned, was not in the begin- 
ning, as appears in the following paragraph from Governor 
Young's message to the Legislature which met in December 
of the same year: 

"Under the fostering care of the government, the subject 
of education is fast assuming an importance that will reflect 
great credit upon our exertions. The Board of Chancellors 
and Regents of the University have already established 
schools in various parts of the state without incurring any 
expense to the institution. The enlightened course pursued 
by the Board will redound to the benefit of the institution, 
as well as to a general system of education throughout the 
state, and must certainly meet with your cordial approval, 
and warrant your encouragement." 



134 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 



Lieutenant J. W. Gunnison makes some interesting refer- 
ences to the subject in his "History of the Mormons," writ- 
ten in Utah about a year later, which throws a flood of light 
on the hopes then entertained of the future of the University. 
He says: "In Utah, or Deseret, the arrangements for the 
cause of education are upon an extensive scale. Hitherto all 
exertion has necessarily been bestowed upon the means of 
living, to fence fields, build houses, and tend their crops 
and herds. But as soon as this pressure slackened we find 
them appropriating liberally for a University which shall be 
eminently practical in its character, and designed to teach 
the useful branches first to all and allow those who have the 
leisure and means, to acquire the ornamental afterwards. 
The selected grounds for the University buildings are beau- 
tifully located on the first broad terrace of the temple city, 
and overlook the dwellings of the town." Pursuing his dis- 
cription the author says: "A large square is to be allotted 
and fitted to athletic and equestrian exercises; an observatory 
for practical astronomy and the instruments already collec- 
ted, are to be freely used to instruct on the grounds. In 
the several departments of engineering, mechanics, and sur- 
veying — the agricultural department, liberally patronized; 
and the living spoken languages of all peoples, thoroughly 
taught to the proper students. A peculiar feature in their 
instruction is the introduction of a 'Parent School' for the 
heads of families; and at the time ot the organization the 
President (Young), is said to have avowed his intention of 
attending it as a scholar, which is gladly mentioned as a 
thing redounding to his praise and showing his strength of 
character.*' "Their philosophers," continues the writer in 
another paragraph, "already aspire to something more than 
has yet been accomplished, and they state that they shall 
revolutionize the kingdom of science, and surpass the most 
learned in mathematics, philosophy, and the sciences of 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 135 

observation. The geologist and chemist must directly come 
to them to learn the wonders developed from below and in 
the mineral kingdom, and the botanist and the naturalist to 
study the arcana of the principles of life, elaborated in the 
vegetable and animal. For, having 'sought first the kingdom 
of God and its righteousness,' they look now for the promise 
of having all other things and knowledge added; but they 
sensibly add, that the Lord helps them who help themselves, 
and their minds will only be quickened to perceive by the 
most intense industry." In this connection the historian 
graphically introduces an extract from a public oration of one 
of the Regents. "Beseeching the whole church to pray the 
Lord, our Heavenly Father, to send down some of the Re- 
gents from the great University of Perfection, as he did to 
Noah, Moses, and others, to unfold to his servants the prin- 
ciples of v/isdom, philosophy, and science, which is truth." 
"But," the speaker goes on, "what will all the precious things 
of time — the inventions of man, the records, from Japhet in 
the Ark to Jonathan in Congress, embracing the wit and 
gist, the fashions and the folly which grace the libraries of 
the elite of nations — really be worth to a saint when our 
Father sends down His Regents, the angels, from the grand 
library of Zion above, with a copy of the history of eternal 
lives; the records of worlds; the geneology of the Gods; the 
philosophy of truth; the names of our spirits from the Lamb's 
Book of Life; and the songs of the sanctified." 

As is thus apparent, the University of Utah owes its origin 
to the great power of religious fervor; and in this respect the 
institution is in company with some of the leading universi- 
ties of the country. Harvard and Yale had similar begin- 
nings, and, like the University of Utah, without it they would 
not probably have begun when they did, or within the same 
century. 

The great difficulty in the way of the institution at the 



136 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

time of its opening seems to have been the want of compe- 
tent teachers. 

The original design was to have a separate school for 
women, consequently only males were first admitted. But 
chis idea was soon abandoned, and the school was thrown 
open to both sexes. 

The school was assuming at least the appearance of suc- 
cess, but two obstacles confronted the regents at this point 
which experienced educators are in the habit of considering 
as something prodigious, especially for a young institution. 
First, there was no money in the treasury and not likely to 
be any more very soon. Produce was the principal exchange 
among the people, and in a great measure constituted their 
tax money. Second, there were no feeders for such a school, 
and little immediate prospect of sufificient patronage to justify 
its continuance, consequently the inevitable day of its sus- 
pension soon came. But a chancellor and board of regents 
were, nevertheless, regularly appointed by the Legislature. 
Meanwhile the board was authorized by an act of the As- 
sembly to appoint a superintendent of primary schools, and 
throughout the long suspension of fifteen years, their exer- 
tions were given to the building up of a public school system 
throughout the Territory. 

In November, 1867, the University work was resumed, 
and until March, 1869, was kept in successful operation as a 
commercial school. Under the new regime the University 
at once assumed a position of prestige and influence. The 
work was laid out in five courses; preparatory, normal, com- 
mercial, scientific, and classical. It was not until the second 
year, however, that the full system were in operation. The 
sudden rise ©f popularity brought at once to the aid of the 
institution the best educational material of the Territory. 
Under such auspicious conditions its success seemed to be 
assured. Liberal appropriations were made from year to 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 137 

year by the Legislature, and in due time the city deeded to 
the regents. a block of ten acres near the center of trade for 
a building site. Under this encouragement $20,000 had 
been expended toward the erection of permanent quarters, 
when the very existence of the University was suddenly im- 
perilled through a political brawl between the Governor and 
the Legislature, which resulted in an absolute veto of the bi- 
ennial appropriation bill. For a time this hostile action 
seemed to be a death blow to higher education in Utah. The 
President and professors being first to see the seriousness of 
the situation, came forward and offered their services without 
pay, till something could be done to remove the embarrass- 
ment. In the meantime the merchants and bankers came to 
the relief of the institution, and a fund, sufficient to keep the 
school open till the sitting of the next Legislature, was in a 
short time placed at the disposal of of the regents. In 1884 
the Legislature amended the charter, giving the institution 
definite power to confer degrees, and in 1892 a new charter 
was enacted, reducing the membership of the governing 
board to nine, including the chancellor, and changing the 
name ot the institution from "The University of Deseret" to 
"The University of Utah." 

The present Board of Regents is a most able body, com- 
prising a number of very prominent men. This board com- 
pletely sustains the reputation of its predecessors, for marked 
energy, ability, and a willingness toward personal sacrifice 
in the interests of the institution placed under its charge. 

Thus, from a beginning so small that the entire work of 
instruction was performed by a single teacher, the institution 
has grown steadily to its present creditable proportions, with 
about 500 students enrolled, and a faculty of twenty able 
specialists, exclusive of the instructors in the Training School 
for Teachers, the Art Department, and the School for the 
Deaf. In all, thirty-five teachers are directly engaged in the 



138 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

work of instruction. The work of the University as now 
offered includes, besides a three years' preparatory course, 
and a preparatory normal course of the same extent, regular 
and full college curricula in General Science, Liberal Arts, 
Letters, and Mining, each with its own degree, and two 
courses in advanced normal work, leading to the degrees of 
Bachelor of Science in Pedagogy, and Bachelor of Letters 
in Pedagogy. The present site of the University covers an 
entire city block — ten acres in area. The main building is a 
large, substantial structure containing the library and read- 
ing room, working museum, and the class rooms for general 
instruction and for the special courses in literature, history, 
and natural science. The Deseret Museum building, new 
and handsome, affords a home for the extensive and valuable 
collections of that institution, beside laboratories, lecture 
rooms, and offices for the work in physical science. The 
Deseret Museum, though owned by a private corporation, 
viz: the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association, is of 
free access for the work ot the University. Another large 
building is used for the work of the Normal Training School, 
beside serving its special purpose as a school for the deaf. 
Through an act of the Territorial Legislature, a very incon- 
gruous association was effected, by the placing of the in- 
struction of the deaf mutes in charge of the University; it is 
almost certain, however, that a separation of this department 
will be made in the very near future. At present, some work 
in manual training is carried on in connection with the work 
of the school for the deaf. 

But a fairer location and a more commodious home are 
promised the institution. The general government, by a 
recent act of Congress, has given for the future University 
campus a magnificent site of sixty acres on the east bench 
lying at the foothills of the Wasatch range, overlooking city 
and valley and lake. A more commodious or more beautiful 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. i 39 

place could not be found in the valley of the young and grow- 
ing- University of Utah. 

In April, 1894, the University became the recipient of a 
vahiable endowment, the first of its kind in the history of the 
institution. The Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Associa- 
tion, an educational society of Utah, endowed the chair of 
Geology in the amount of $60,000, this fund to be kept in- 
tact, and the proceeds to be used for the support of the chair 
named. In addition to this, Dr. John R. Park, about the 
same time, donated to the University his splendid private 
library of nearly four thousand volumes, and an extensive 
collection of natural history specimens, etc. This gift, to- 
gether with the miscellaneous works of the Territorial 
library, transferred to the University by act of the Legisla- 
ture in 1890, have made the University library one of the 
best in the State. 

If now local self interest, and the baneful influence of small 
politics, can be forced to yield their empire to education, 
and a line of public policy be adopted to consolidate the scat- 
tered interests of higher learning upon one substantial found- 
ation, Utah may easily become the educational centre of the 
inter-mountain region, which, by the laws of natural and 
social supremacy, is her just and proper inheritance." 

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE OF UTAH. 

The aims and organization of this institution are best re- 
presented by subjoined extract from its circular for the 
academic year 1 895-1 896. 

Establishment of the College. 

An Act of Congress, approved July 2, 1892, provided that 
public lands should be granted to the several states, to the 
amount of "thirty thousand acres for each senator and repre- 
sentative in Congress," for the establishment and mainten- 



I40 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

ance of an agricultural college in each state. By the terms 
of the act providing for the admission of Utah as a 
state, the amount of public lands granted to the Agricultural 
College of Utah was increased to 200,000 acres. 

The national law provides that from the sale of this land 
there shall be established a perpetual fund "the interest of 
which shall be inviolably appropriated, by each state Vv'hich 
may take and claim the benefit of this act, to the endow- 
ment, support, and maintenance of at least one college, 
where the leading object shall be, without excluding other 
scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, 
to teach such branches of learning as are related to agricul- 
ture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the Legisla- 
tures of the states may respectively prescribe, in order to 
promote the liberal pursuits and professions in life." The act 
forbade the use of any portion of the aforesaid fund, or of the 
interest thereon, for the purchase, erection, or maintenance 
of any building or buildings. 

This land became available upon the admission of the 
Territory to statehood. 

The Legislature of Utah in 1888, accepted the provi- 
sions of the national law by the passage of an act which 
tounded the College, defined its policy, prescribed its work, 
and indicated its sphere. 

Sec. 12. — The course of instruction shall embrace the 
English language and literature, mathematics, civil engineer- 
ing, agricultural chemistry, animal and vegetable anatomy 
and physiology, the veterinary art, entomology, geology, 
and such other natural sciences as may be prescribed, tech- 
nology, political, rural, and household economy, horticulture, 
moral philosophy, history, book-keeping, and especially the 
application of science and the mechanical arts to practi- 
cal agriculture in the field. 

Sec. 10. — In the appointment of professors, instructors, 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 141 

and other officers and assistants of said college, and in pre- 
scribing- the studies and exercises thereof, no partialit}- or 
preference shall be shown by the trustees to one sect or re- 
ligious denomination over another; nor shall anything sec- 
tarian be taught therein; and persons engaged in conducting, 
governing, managing, or controlling said College and its 
studies and exercises in all its parts, shall faithfully and im- 
partially carry out the provisions of this act for the common 
good, irrespective of sects or parties, political, or religious. 

It is clear that the Agricultural College was founded in 
the interest of the industrial classes in the several pursuits 
and professions of life, to give not alone a technical educa- 
tion, but, in the language of the law, a "liberal and practical 
education." The legislative founders of this institution 
sought to place within reach of the producing classes, an edu- 
cation that the older institutions had not, as a rule, made 
provisions for. 

The instructional policy of the College is in consonance 
with the letter and spirit of the laws upon which it was 
founded. Its courses of instruction represent the five great 
vocations of the people of Utah: agriculture, the mechanic 
arts, commerce, and home work. 

The act of 1862, says Senator Morrill, "proposed a broad 
education by colleges, not limited to a superficial and dwarfed 
training, such as might be had in an industrial school, nor a 
mere manual training such as might be supplied by a fore- 
man of a workshop, or by a foreman ot an experimental farm. 
If any would have only a school with equal scraps of labor 
and of instruction, or something other than a college, they 
would not obey the national law." 

Under an act of Congress, approved March 2, 1887, the 
College receives $15,000 annually for the maintenance ot its 
experimental work in agriculture. This is in charge of the 
department known as the Agricultural Experiment Station. 



142 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Under an act of Congress, approved March 30, 1880, the 
College received, for its more complete endowment and main- 
tenance, "the sum of fifteen thousand dollars for the year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety." The 
act provides that this amount shall be increased by $1,000 
each year until the annual appropriation reaches $25,000. 
The amount received under this law for the present year will 
be $22,000. 

The Legislature of 1888 gave $25,000 for buildings. The 
county of Cache and the town of Logan gave one hundred 
acres of land on which to locate the College. The legisla- 
ture of 1890 appropriated $48,000 for apparatus, for the em- 
ployment of teachers, and for the construction of a house, 
barn, two laborers' cottages, and an experiment station build- 
ing. The Legislature of 1892 gave $108,000 for an addition 
to the College building, for two houses, for apparatus, and for 
salaries of teachers. The Legislature of 1894 appropriated 
$15,000 for the purchase of apparatus, for a greenhouse, for a 
veterinary laboratory, and for the employment of teachers. 
The Territorial auditor reports the value of the College 
property now in possession, at the conservative figure of 
$211,^47. 

The Constitution framed by the Territorial Convention, 
lor the new State of Utah, provides: 

Sec. 4. — The location and establishment by existing laws 
of the University of Utah and the Agricultural College are 
hereby confirmed, and all the rights, immunities, franchises, 
and endowments heretofore granted or conferred, are here- 
by perpetuated unto said University and College respec- 
tively. 

Requirements for Admission. 

I. Graduates of the Eighth grade of the district schooks 
are permitted to enter the Sub-Freshman year without ex- 
amination. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 143 

2. To enter the Freshman j'ear the student cannot be 
under fifteen years of a age, and must pass a satisfactory ex- 
amination in the following subjects using the text named or 
their equivalents: 

1. Reading and Spelling. 

2. Geograph)^ — Appleton's Higher. 

3. Either Physical Geography, Maury's or Houston's, or 
United States History, Barnes'. 

4. Grammar — Maxwell's Higher. 

5. Arithmetic — Harper's Second Book. 

Students may be admitted without an examination from 
an accredited high-school, academy, or other institution, if 
they present certificates of the completion of the subjects 
named above. 

Courses of Study. 

I. — TJic first tivo years. 

The first two years of all the four year courses are the 
same. 

The studies and training of these years have been laid out 
with care; the students are not permitted to vary from the 
course shown in the outline except as herein provided. 

1. Lady students in either course in Domestic Arts take 
sewing and dressmaking in the freshman year, in the place of 
shop work in wood and iron, as indicated by the footnote on 
page 22. In the sophomore year, second term, lady students 
take lectures on cooking and laboratory practice in cooking 
in the place of trigonometry and electricity and magnetism; 
and in the third term, the science of nutrition, and laboratory 
practice in cooking instead of surveying and elementary 
mechanics. 

2. In the several short courses, the studies of the first two 
years are varied far enough to meet the requirements of this 
class of students. 



144 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

The studies of the first two years are planned to meet the 
requirements of our most numerous class of students, the 
majority who attend for two years or less after completing 
the studies of the district schools, These two years, as now 
planned in our schedule, provide as broad a culture in a gen- 
era Iway, and as thorough a preparation for the special courses 
which follow, as we are at present able to offer. Whatever 
college course, profession, or occupation the student may 
afterwards undertake, the first two years as planned repre- 
sent the best preliminary training the College affords. We 
cannot assume, therefore, to vary the course further than is 
indicated above, and students must pursue the studies, or 
as many of them as they are able to pursue, as here laid 
down. 

The figures denote the number of recitations or the hours 
of laboratory practice per week. 

Courses in Ag7'iculture. 

The student of agriculture unceasingly deals with nature, 
and is thereby brought into daily contact wMth life and the 
sciences relating to life. In the management of soils and in 
the use of tools he comes in contact with physical and me- 
chanical laws, and in the markets, with commercial and politi- 
cal laws. Agriculture deals with more of the sciences than 
does any other industry; a thorough agricultural education 
has become more nearly a liberal education, than that neces- 
sary to any other industry or profession; and a well educated 
farmer is also liberally educated as a citizen. 

In the course of instruction in agriculture, few studies are 
involved that are not essential to the most successful 
farmer. It may be termed a course in the applied sciences. 

Fleretofore agriculture has been without guiding laws. It 
is now rapidly becoming the most learned of the industries 
or professions. The fascination of its living forms and the 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 145 

certainty of its laws may fairly be expected to attract the 
highest talent. It is one of the best fields for industrial en- 
terprise and for the development of the highest order of in- 
tellectual and physical manhood. 

The principal and most profitable industry of the valleys 
of Utah and adjacent states, for many years to come, will 
probably be that of farming. We therefore recommend to 
students generally the agricultural course, which has been 
especially planned for practical, well-educated, and broad- 
minded agriculturists. 

Course in Mechanical Enorineerinsr. 

The course in mechanical engineering aims to equip the 
student with the especial training in pure and applied mathe- 
matics that shall qualify him to deal with the engineering 
problems of his profession. He is made acquainted with 
engineering practice and thus given a proper ground-work 
for a professional career. 

A thorough course in physics supplements the training in 
pure and applied mathematics; the subjects of heat, steam- 
engine, steam-boilers, electricity, etc., added to the two 
years of elementary physics, are thought to conscitute a good 
scientific basis for the study of engineering. 

The shopwork of the course includes carpentry, pattern- 
making, forging, filing, and machine-tool work. 

The work in drawing comprises the solution of problems 
involving geometric principles and the principles of projec- 
tion; sketches of machines and accurate drawings of them; 
shading, tinting, and descriptive geometry. 

Course in Civil Engineering. 

The instruction in this course extends over a period of 
four years, and is designed to afford a training of a practical 
as well as theoretical nature to such students as are preparing 



146 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

to enter the profession of civil engineering. The course is 
also intended to qualify young men to fill other positions in 
life. 

In Western America the design and construction of irriga- 
tion works, the need of competent managers and superinten- 
dents to operate them, and the supervision and control of the 
public waters, require men trained in body and theory and 
the practice of hydraulic engineering. 

In the construction and operation ot municipal works, 
trained specialists are rapidly taking positions; so that there 
is reason to hope that in the course of a few years the street 
supervisors, building and sanitary inspectors, water, sewer, 
and gas superintendents, and members of the boards of public 
works in American cities, will be appointed solely on the 
basis of efficiency in their respective departments. 

For the reasons outlined, greater prominence has been 
given to the studies included in hydraulic and municipal en- 
gineering. 

Farm. Irrigation and Irrigation Engineering. 

The College aims to make a specialt}^ of these subjects. 
As early as the sub-freshman year, lectures on irrigation en- 
gineering are given to students in physical geography, in 
place of much other matter usually studied in that class. 
Drainage and irrigation, as applied to farms and orchards, 
are treated at length in the course in agriculture. Irrigation 
engineering extends over two terms in the civil engineering 
course. The publications of the College on irrigation repre- 
sent much original investigation of important problems, and 
the results are of great value to students. Irrigation as a 
special course is open to those who desire to investigate this 
subject with practical ends in view; and it is likely that in 
the near future a four-year course in Irrigation engineering 
may be offered. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 47 

Connnercial Course. 

Four years ago, after mature reflection, a commercial 
course of two years was placed in association with the other 
courses of the College. This course offered a broader general 
education than is common in commercial courses. Last 
year a commercial course of four years was offered, making 
an entirely new departure in the history of commercial edu- 
cation in this country. This departure was based upon the 
success of the two years' course and a desire to bring it into 
harmony with the aim of the institution. This aim is a lib- 
eral and practical education for the industrial classes— edu- 
cation for citizenship and for industrial life. No other large 
industrial class has a more direct and important relation to 
the material, social, and political life of the nation, and it 
seems that if a general education should be associated with 
technical education in agriculture, mechanic arts, civil en- 
gineering, and domestic arts, it certainly should be associated 
with the commercial course. The success of the courses has 
exceeded expectation. This success is ascribed to the prac- 
tical character of the technical work, and to the fact that 
associated with the instruction or other studies which give 
to the student an enlarged view of his varied relations as a 
citizen of the state. The course is broad enough to prepare 
the student tor teaching, or for entering upon the study of 
law. 

Course in Domestic Arts. 

The course for 3'oung women is in general the same as for 
young men in the four years' course in agriculture, except in 
the hours devoted to shop, farm, or horticultural work. In 
the place of these there are special studies adapted to woman's 
work. 

The value and necessity of special training in household 
economy are too well known to require explanation. 



148 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

It will be seen that special attention is given to these 
branches of study which tend to adorn life in the sphere in 
which they move. 

If the place given to horticulture, floriculture, and eco- 
nomic botany, should require explanation, it may be sufHci- 
ent to say that this line of work has a fascination for all 
classes, and everywhere claims the admiration and almost 
the affection of every person of refinement. Household 
plants and the farm and village garden are always objects of 
interest and ot importance to women, and often the source 
of physical health, inducing, as they do, exercise in the 
open air. This does not necessitate the added drudgery of 
physical work in the garden any further than pleasure may 
dictate. A special class is taught in floriculture, especially 
as adapted to window gardening; in the preparation of soil, 
and in the growth of vegetables and small Iruits. 

Exercises in the application of the knowledge acquired in 
the lecture-room are a regular feature of the work. Lectures 
on chemistry are succeeded by cooking. The cooking exer- 
cises are accompanied by practice in table-setting, table- 
waiting, and presiding at the table as hostess. 

A term's work is given to the study of foods, with refer- 
ence to their special effects on the human system in both 
health and disease; and about twenty-four lessons on cooking 
for the sick are offered in the last term. 

In dressmaking, gowns are cut out, basted, fitted, draped, 
trimmed, and entirely finished by the student. Regular 
practice is given in the care of the machine, and its mechan- 
ism is illustrated. The students furnish materials and make 
their own clothing. 

Dairying: Very decided attention is given to this most 
important field of work, over which woman has general 
charge. Fortunately, the more exacting work of the dairy 
now falls to other hands, but the necessity remains for 
mastery by the women of the philosophy of darying. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 149 

A special course of lectures on hygiene is given to the 
young women of this course. 

A term in geometrical drawing and a term in advanced 
drawing have been included, in order that those students 
who have a taste for these accomplishments may acquire 
them. 

A term in aesthetics, the science of taste and beauty, and 
a term of ethics have been added to this course, in the belief 
that these studies would give culture and refinement, besides 
furnishing wholesome, mental discipline in the analysis of 
philosophic theories, and systems of health. 

THE DISTRICT SCHOOLS. 

The district schools constitute the basis of the educational 
structure in Utah, and as such demand the combined solici- 
tude, protection, and fostering care of the legislative, judicial, 
and educational powers of the people. 

The common schools reflect, in the average, better than 
anything else, the intellectual standard of a people. Nations 
in antiquity as well as in modern times, have produced men 
and women of great erudition, mighty in intellect, and of 
wonderful achievements in science, literature, art. statesman- 
ship, strategy, and mechanism, while yet the majority of the 
people have been left to grovel in ignorance, superstition, 
misery, and spiritual and temporal servitude. 

The enlightenment of the few out of the many creates 
merely an intellectual aristocracy. That kind may be pre- 
ferable to the aristocracy of birth, and is certainly superior 
to the despicable aristocracy of wealth, but it is an aristoc 
racy still, with all its arrogant presumption and assumption 
of privileges over the rights of the less favored. 

A people can realize the full meaning of liberty only when 
common education is extended, so that every child may have 



I50 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

a chance to acquire a degree of culture that shall give his 
abilities an even show among his fellow-men. 

The drafts upon the public treasury for the various pur- 
poses of the great machinery ot state management, are some- 
times a heavy burden upon the people and constitute the 
subject of animated discussion by legislators, the public press, 
and the people generally. Whatever the merits or demerits 
of many of these items of direct or indirect taxation may be, 
there is one regarding which no diversity of opinion should 
exist to weaken the efforts made to carry it to a success- 
ful issue. This item is the liberal support of our district 
schools. 

Great nations may spend the greater part of their whole 
revenue for military purposes as a testimony of the strength 
of the fragments of barbarism still remaining in our modern 
civilization. Others may direct it into the channels of 
material interests and improvements, which is a step higher 
in the scale; but to spend it for the intellectual and moral 
advancement of the people, is an investment which anywhere 
will make more than a hundred fold returns. 

Although finances are considered the nervus reriiin in all 
public affairs and constitute in educational matters a no less 
important factor, there is another agent of equal force, that 
has not received, as yet, so general a recognition as the im- 
portance of the case requires; I refer to the moral and intel- 
lectual efficiency of teachers. 

Erect a magnificent school building and furnish it with all 
the appurtenances of modern education, and yet the school 
may prove a failure, because the teachers employed in it do 
not possess the qualifications which a progressive community 
has a right to expect from the instructors of its children. 

Where rests the blame.-^ Without any circumlocution, I 
shall answer this question by saying: It rests with the people 
themselves. There are several causes at work to interfere 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. I 5 i 

with the engagement of efficient teachers, the most promin- 
ent among them being politics. As long as the people will 
consent to the handling of educational affairs in the interest 
• of political parties, so long will the public school be a shuttle- 
cock for politicians, and real merit and professional efficiency 
come into consideration only so far as they can be made sub- 
servient to partisan politics. 

The second great obstacle in the advancement of the dis- 
trict school to a higher grade of efficiency, is the annual 
change of teachers. From among the many disadvantages 
of this mode of procedure, I select only some of the most 
glaring. 

The system of obliging teachers to perambulate around the 
country from school to school and of being subject to the 
whims and political proclivities of trustees, whose tenure of 
office is also dependent upon partisan preferences, discourages 
many selt-respecting young people whose moral and intellec- 
tual endowments would eminently qualify them for the 
educational profession, and causes them to choose other 
careers. 

It should be the endeavor of school authorities to reach as 
nearly as possible, permanenc}^ of engagement of efficient 
and trustworthy teachers, by establishing periods of, say, 
five years of continuous service, after which a teacher should 
not be discharged except for cause or by mutual agreement. 

The short periods during which so many district schools 
are kept open each year is another drawback to educational 
interests. Not alone that by three or five months "school- 
ing" a year, the amount of education furnished a child is in- 
adequate to the requirements of the present state of civiliza- 
tion, but that also the kind is in many cases far below the 
average. The reason for this is plain. Teachers engaging 
in such schools will be under the necessity either of following 
some other occupation for the rest of the year in order to 



152 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

make a living, or of taking up teaching only to fill out the time 
when work is slack in their other lines of business. In both 
cases interest, sympathy, and energy are divided, and the 
school is the heavy loser. 

Unfortunately many communities labor under the halluci- 
nation that the term "free schools" means running the district 
school just as long as their share of the school fund will carry 
it, instead of regarding this allotment only as a subsidy to 
their own endeavors for its maintenance during the full school 
year. As soon as this erroneous view can be corrected, a 
vast step forward will have been made toward getting better 
teachers and, consequently, better schools. 

This imperfect condition of things produces another deteri- 
orating effect. Many teachers, after having become efficient 
by experience, devotion, and study, are forced eventually to 
quit the profession for more lucrative pursuits, just when 
their services have become most valuable. Their places 
have to be filled by comparatively inexperienced beginners, 
and thus the mill keeps on grinding, turning out efficient 
teachers for other professions and everlastingly beginning 
anew with novices. Education pays the bill. 

Let us make it worth while for the best elements from 
among the educated classes to choose the teacher's profession 
rather than any other, and then stay with it. Let us raise 
the standard of moral and intellectual requirements for teach- 
ers as high as possible, and make the compensation in pro- 
portion. 

Whatever superstructure in the shape of high schools and 
university it may then be desirable to raise upon this founda- 
tion, there will never be wanting fine material for it. The 
general intelligence and sound moral principles of the citizens 
of Utah, will make themselves felt in the legislative halls, the 
courts of justice, in every sphere of public activity, and last 
but not least of all, at the firesides of the people. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 153 

HIGH SCHOOLS. 

For a long time, the gap between the district schools and 
the University was periodically sought to be filled by district 
school teachers who attempted to conduct higher classes, es- 
pecially in mathematics, but were able to do it only to the 
detriment of their more legitimate work. Various denomin- 
ational schools also did some creditable work in this direc- 
tion. But the real preparatory labor for university courses 
had to be done at the University itself; for the preparation 
done elsewhere proved, in too many instances, unsatisfactory. 

This necessity and the limited means at disposal proved 
serious drawbacks to the advancement of our chief educa- 
tional institution. The necessity of establishing separate 
High schools as connecting links between the district schools 
and the University, became, in consequence, apparent to the 
most casual observer. 

To the honor of the Board of Education of Salt Lake City 
be it said, that they ventured upon the undertaking in the 
face of formidable financial difficulties, and organized a High 
school that is a worthy pattern for all schools of the same 
grade everywhere. 

But the defect, spoken of already in connection with the 
district schools, is yet more serious in its consequences in 
these High schools. This point is treated upon more explic- 
itely in subjoined contribution of mine to "The Utah Univer- 
sity Quarterly" of June, 1895, inserted here by kind permis- 
sion of the publishers of that periodical. 

DEflO]VII|4ATIOriflli TEflCHiriG FOR PUPILiS OF HIGH SCflOOli 

GRADE. 



Rjj the General Superintendent of Latter-day Saint Schools. 

That the influence of education is paramount to every other 
agency in the construction and further development of civil- 



I 54 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

ized society, goes without saying; and, on that account, the 
noblest efforts of divines, philosophers, and statesmen, have 
been engaged in the consideration of this all-important sub- 
ject. They all have had to follow the principle of a surveyor 
who starts out to locate a railroad or a canal. He ascertains 
his starting point and his terminus and then shapes his course 
according to the conditions of the intervening ground. The 
starting point, therefore, and the terminus, determine the 
direction of the whole survey. This is exactly the proposi- 
tion that confronts education. 

What is the ultimate aim.? Where is the most suitable 
starting point.-^ These are questions the solution of which 
furnishes the keynote for the tendency of the whole course 
connecting the ends. 

Lycurgus considered the cultivation of the material propen- 
sities of the citizens of a warlike state, the crowning glory of 
education, hence his austere training of the youth has become 
proverbial, as Spartan, until our day. Plato, by his trancend- 
ental philosophy, contributed much to the laxity of Grecian 
morals, while Socrates came nearer to the discovery of the 
true motive power of education than any philosopher before 
or after him. There is Seneca, the moralist of refinement, 
whose educational efforts suffered such a terrible fiasco in his 
pupil Nero; and Confucius, whose code of ethics, lacking 
spirituality, laid the foundation of the stereotyped condition 
of the Chinese. There are also the self-styled, but falsely 
styled, philosophers of our day, especially of the unphilo- 
sophical and rampant evolutionary school with its disinte- 
grating tendencies. This influnce upon the cause of educa- 
tion is not only pronounced in the halls of universities and 
colleges, but after having established itself also in high 
schools, is reaching down into the common schools of our 
land, whence it will enter to the firesides of the people and 
control, finally, the civilization of the age. 



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SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 155 

The ultimate tendency of this extreme kind of teaching 
would lead to the pessimism of the Schopenhauer philosophy, 
expressible in the simple formula: "Life is not worth living." 
A philosophy ot education with such a conclusion as its out- 
come, is compelled to look around for some animating prin- 
ciple to give cohesion to its interpretation of life. This modus 
vivendi is believed to be found in emulation. 

Thoughtful educators, however, discovering that this 
principle is likely to develop into unbridled ambition, have 
endeavored to check its deteriorating tendency by the intro- 
duction of ethics. Now, ethics, without a foundation of 
positive religion, is itself empirical in its nature, and the out- 
growth instead of the shaper ot civilization. Ethics, pure 
and simple, substitutes respectability for character, decorum 
for virtue, and measures purity of the soul by a utilitarian 
standard. 

This principle of emulation, propped up by the "soft and 
pliant pillow," ethics, has proven, therefore, an insufficient 
motive power for education to prepare mankind gradually 
from generation to generation more thoroughly for its final 
destiny. This destiny is expressed in the words of the Great 
Teacher of Nazareth: "Be ye therefore perfect as your Father 
in heaven is perfect." There is more vitality in these words, 
spoken by "one having authority," than can be gathered 
from all the philosophers of ancient and modern times, and 
education finds in them a surer guide, than the skepticism of 
agnostics can furnish with its ethics. 

But the uncertainty in the matter of final aims is not the 
only objectionable feature of this mere secular education. 
There is a greater danger connected with it. According to 
the educational maxim, that no teacher can give what he does 
not himself possess, an agnostic or infidel teacher, being 
devoid of religious faith , can not cultivate it in his pupils. 

I speak not here of any particular faith or profession: Sec- 



156 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

tarian bias should not be considered in the argument. It is 
much better for a human being to have a mis-directed faith, 
than to have no faith at all. Faith operates on the same 
principle as the forces of nature. Light and heat, for instance, 
when once generated, may be misapplied, occassionally, yet 
are capable of being put to proper use; when there is no light 
or heat at all, a proper use is impossible, and their absence 
may prove of serious consequence in certain emergencies. 
Thus it is with religious faith. Though misapplied, or degen- 
erated into bigotry, fanaticism, or superstition, it yet may be 
turned to the comprehension and practice of divine principles 
of salvation: but when infidelity has taken root in the mind, 
or skepticism has thrown its withering blight over the heart, 
a mental condition ensues comparable to consumption in the 
physical body. Consumption incapacitates a man for physical 
exertion; skepticism produces the same effect in regard to 
spiritual efforts. 

I, therefore, would sooner see a pupil in the early stages 
of his school life exposed to the dangers of an infectious 
disease, and trust to medical treatment or other means for 
recovery, than to see him exposed to the influence of an 
atheistic teacher, or one infected with the skepticism of 
agnostics. The symptoms in the former case are sooner dis- 
covered and more easily counteracted, while in the latter 
instance, they make their appearance mostly when the 
patient is too far advanced in this malady. 

In consideration of these facts, divines of many churches 
haye emphatically protested against the exclusively secular 
system of education prevailing in our country, particularly 
in secondary or high school grades, and have sought a share 
in the educational interest. 

The necessity for this demand is especially apparent in the 
schools of secondary grades, where the students, in the most 
susceptible period of their lives, are removed from the purify- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. I 57 

\ng influences of the parental hearth. According to the 
testimony of workers in such schools. corroborated by that of 
other trustworthy witnesses, the moral standard of a great 
number of students in some of these institutions is deplorably 
low. From these schools are expected to issue forth men 
that are destined to be leaders in state affairs, sciences, arts, 
commerce, and society, and yet they carry with them the 
virus of corruption and unbelief. What wonder then, that 
integrity, purity, and self-sacrifice for the welfare of the 
public, are supplanted by selfishness, gratification of sensual 
or low desires, and betrayal of public trust. 

To stay this flood of corruption and disregard of the Divine 
Word, which threatens to overflow the glorious achievements 
of modern civilization and the institutions of our country, 
conscientious teachers, and far-seeing statesmen, recognize 
the necessity of introducing the religious element, cleansed 
from sectarian prejudices, into at least the secondary depart- 
ments of our educational system. In lower grades, the child- 
ren ought to be, and usually are, more truly the subjects of 
home care. In the institutions of most advanced teaching, 
the pupils are generally men and women, with at least the 
lines of their character defined, and, withal, more capable of 
looking after themselves. If those lines, developed through 
the schools of lower grade, and the influences of a pure home 
atmosphere, have been directed toward a God-seeking life, 
the danger of spiritual dwarfing through subsequent influ- 
ences will be less alarming. Of all divisions of our public 
school organization, the High school is least provided for; and 
it is in the effort to fill this gap in the system, that denomina- 
tional academies and seminaries flourish as they do. This is 
the most promising and desirable field tor such institutions 
to work in. The High school student should be urged to seek 
religious instruction according to the denomination whose 
doctrines he chooses to follow. The requirement wisely 



158 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

established by law that in schools maintained by the state, 
and supported by the taxation of all classes, no sectarian in- 
struction shall be allowed, is no bar to a proper course along 
this line of necessary culture. Clubs, classes, or other organ- 
izations may be established outside of, yet in harmony 
v/ith, the schools, for the benefit of the pupils and others of 
sufficiently mature years, by any and all denominations that 
profess a standing in the community. Religious study can 
be followed, as the writer knows from ample experience, sub- 
ject to the same rules of order, attendance, and efforts to- 
ward progress, as are required in other branches of study; 
and all such instruction should be directed toward the exclu- 
sion, and the final banishment of the baneful spirit of sec- 
tarian animosity. Everyone should be willing to accord to 
his neighbor's beliefs and practices the respect he desires for 
his own. Neither secular nor religious duties ought to be 
neglected; training on each of these lines is essential to the 
harmonious development of the soul indicated in the admon- 
ition of Christ, already quoted. 

The realization of so glorious an end is devoutly to be 
wished; and it would seem that the experiment is worthy the 
consideration of thinking men. Its success would indicate 
the dawning of a day of peace in Utah. 




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SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, i 59 

CHAPTER III. 



Our Church School System. 



INTRODUCTION. 

With a consistency worthy of a better cause, the world at 
large has persisted in accusing the Mormon people and their 
leaders, of being not only indifferent but actually opposed to 
education, which false notion has been nursed and kept alive 
by reports from men that came into our midst blinded by 
prejudice, and often impelled by mercenary motives. 

To exonerate the Mormon people and their leaders from 
this vile charge, a few facts bearing upon the case are here 
presented. They will, I trust, suffice to show not only the 
baseness of these reports, but will serve to convince every 
unprejudiced mind of the contrary. 

The spirit of education has been engendered in the hearts 
of Latter-day Saints from the earliest days of the church, by 
the earnest teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith himself. 
He, realizing the lack of education in the days of his own child- 
hood, not only took pains to admonish his followers to avail 
themselves of every opportunity for getting knowledge, but 
set the example himself by calling efficient teachers to Kirt- 
land, by the assistance of whom he and other leading men of 
his people obtained a degree of learning that raised them far 
above the average, while some of them, as for instance. Pro- 
fessor Orson Pratt, attained great renown in philosophy and 
mathematics. 

When, following the martyrdom of the Prophet, the Saints 
had been expelled from Nauvoo, and after their long and 
tedious wanderings across the plains had settled in these 



l6o SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

vallej^s, their new leader, President Brigham Young, made 
it one of his first concerns to instruct the people, even in the 
midst of their struggles for the necessities of life, to start 
schools for their children as best they could. It was not an 
uncommon thing in those days to see older persons in 
school going through their lessons just the same as did the 
children. 

It is true, there was not much of a system, there were no 
text-books, or utensils worth mentioning, and teachers made 
no pretentions to professional efficiency. Yet in those log 
houses, many a man and woman, who, since then, by their 
wisdom and integrity have risen to eminence and influence, 
found the starting point for their usefulness in later days. 

Improvements, however, followed one another in rapid 
succession. The Legislatures enacted laws for the benefit of 
common schools; a few professional teachers from abroad 
found their way to Zion; a Board of Regents for a University 
was organized; the Seventies started a series of lectures in 
their assembly hall; articles on educational subjects appeared 
frequently in the Deseret News; more suitable buildings, 
answering the double purpose of meetinghouse and school- 
room, were erected; and a more systematic course of teaching, 
as indicated by newly imported school books, took the place 
ot the primitive and promiscuous style of "keeping school." 

Slow as these successive steps may have appeared to an 
impatient educator, they were the natural outgrowth of the 
conditions surrounding the people, and are far too much to 
the credit of the struggling pioneers, to give any color of 
truth to the unjust charge of willful neglect. 

Whatever delects of practice may be pointed out in that 
period of our educational history, the fundamental principles 
of Latter-day Saint education were as plainly marked then 
as they are now, viz: a religious foundation, consisting of 
reverence for, and obedience to, the revealed Word of God, 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. i6i 

and a living testimony of the divinity of the Latter-day 
Work. The immediate and practical use of school-room 
acquirements, the pursuance of science, literature, and art, 
with careful avoidance, as far as possible, of the human adul- 
terations in them; the formation of character for integrity, 
truthfulness, chastity, love, and independence; and finally a 
close connection between school and fireside. 

These principles were inculcated, not only in most of our 
common schools, but also in Sunday schools. Mutual Im- 
provement Associations, and Primaries, of which institutions, 
more will be said hereafter under their respective heads. In 
addition to this, special theological classes under the name of 
"The School of the Prophets" were organized in several 
leading localities and conducted by the authorities of the 
church. In fact, there is no people known to history that 
has ever manifested the spirit of education to so marked an 
extent as the Latter-day Saints. This assertion may appear 
presumptuous to one that is accustomed to value things only 
according to the display they make as to number, size, out- 
ward appearance, or popularity; but a close observer recog- 
nizes the value of a tiny oak sapling in contra-distinction to 
that of a full-grown corn-stalk. 

Atter all these struggles, che time finally arrived, when the 
educational ideas that had gradually developed among our 
people, could assume definite 'shape and materialize in the 
the form of institutions of learning. To this end. President 
Brigham Young, by a deed of trust, executed October i6, 
1875, organized the Brigham Young Academy, at Provo; 
and one year later he founded the Brigham Young College, 
at Logan, handsomely endowing both institutions from his 
own means, and outlining in some measure the spirit and 
mode of instructions to be pursued in them. Thus was created 
a nucleus around which a system of schools could be grouped 
as soon as these parent institutions should demonstrate to the 



1 62 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

people the advantages of the special kind of training to be 
given therein. 

The organization ot similar schools soon followed at Salt 
Lake City, Fillmore, St. George, and Ephraim. After four- 
teen years of experience in these several schools, it was 
decided by President VVilford Woodruff (in behalf of the 
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,) to organize a General 
Board of Education, of the Church of Jesus Christ oi Latter- 
day Saints, under whose leadership a general system of church 
schools was to be organized. This action brought things to 
a focus. From the center thus established issued vivifying 
impulses which haye inspired the founding of academies and 
seminaries all over Utah and m adjacent States and Terri- 
tories; and the work, thus begun in faith, carried on in devo- 
tion, and supported by generous sacrifices, will extend its ram- 
ifications into every hamlet in Zion, and shed the luster of 
its benign influence upon every fireside of the Saints. 

God speed the work. 

AUTHORITIES. 

The General Board of Education, consisting of nine mem- 
bers, appointed by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 
was organized June 8, 1888. The first act of this body was 
to issue on the above date a circular signed by President 
Wilford Woodruff, and addressed to all Stake Presidents, as 
chairman, instructing them to organize a Stake Board of 
Education to facilitate and superintend the establishment and 
conduct of church schools in their respective Stakes. 

The appointment of a general Superintendent of Latter- 
day Saints' Schools and of a Church Board of Examiners 
soon followed, so that the new organization might be in com- 
plete working order. 

The results of this new order of things began soon to make 
themselves felt not only throughout Utah, but in Idaho, 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 63 

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and even as far as Old 
Mexico in the south, and Canada in the north. Colleges, 
Academies, Seminaries, and Religion Classes sprang into 
existence, and some of these of the Intermediate Grade mul- 
tiplied very rapidly, reaching the number of forty within 
three years, with over 7,000 students, and 119 teachers. 

The General Board issued several circulars for the infor- 
mation of the public, the guidance of boards and faculties, 
and the instruction of teachers, in regard to their respective 
duties and requirements. 

By arrangement of the General Board, information and in- 
struction in regard to church school matters were to be 
published periodically, in the Juvenile Instructor, as official 
organ, under the head oi^'CJuirch School Papers'', by the Gen- 
eral Superintendent. 

Standards of efficiency for teachers of the various grades 
and courses were determined by the Board of Examiners, 
and submitted to and approved by the General Board, sub- 
ject to such modifications as circumstances and the progress 
of the work might make necessary. 

Annual licenses to teach one year are issued for professors 
and teachers of any grade. These are not to be extended 
without consent of the President of the Board, and then only 
in exceptional cases. After the first year's service, teachers 
are required to pass examination before the Board of Exam- 
iners who issue "Standing Certificates" or "Diplomas" accord- 
ing to the grade passed in. Diplomas for recognized insti- 
tutions of learning, presented by candidates, receive due 
consideration in the matter of corresponding branches of 
study. 

By petition of the General Board of Education, the Church 
sometimes makes appropriations for the assistance of the 
Stake Boards in the maintenance of schools in their respec- 
tive Stakes. The attendance in church schools is not de- 



1 64 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

signed to be exclusive for such as can afford the tuition. It 
is desirable to bring it within the reach of the poorest in the 
land, if possible. Schools can never be self-supporting insti- 
tutions. The stress of competition is too great for any in- 
stitution to grow without endowments or public taxation. 
Our church schools thus far have not the former and can 
never have the assistance of the latter, hence the necessity 
of occasional appropriations by the Church. It is expected, 
however, that every stake or locality, maintaining a church 
school, will do its utmost to carry on the work from its own 
resources, before calling on the General Board for assistance 
in current expenses or for building purposes. 

The various Church boards of education are expected to 
hold regular quarterly meetings at fixed dates, besides 
special meetings whenever ocassions shall require, keeping 
careful records of all proceedings, which records are subject 
to the inspection of the General Superintendent during his 
periodical visits. 

The faculties of the Church schools are to hold regular 
weekly meetings, the day and hour to be as punctually ob- 
served as in the case of any branch of study on the daily 
program. Their respective Boards ought to be made 
acquainted with the time so as to enable any mem.ber to 
attend whenever convenient and get the information he may 
desire. Such member, however, has not the right to inter- 
rupt the proceedings. Upon representation of the Principal, 
or any member ot the Board in cases of serious misdemeanor 
beyond the jurisdiction of the regular school discipline, an 
Academic Council may be called by the President of the 
Board. This council should consist of at least three members 
of the Board and of the whole faculty, and be presided over 
by the President of the Board or any member of the Board 
whom he may designate. The defendant has the right ot 
appeal to the General Board of Education. Expulsion from 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 165 

any church school by decision of an Academic Council would 
exclude the offender from entrance into any other church 
school, unless he obtains pardon from the Council that ex- 
pelled him. 

It is the duty of the General Superintendent to visit each 
Church school at least once a year, examine the records, meet 
with the Faculties, with the respective Boards, address public 
assemblies in the interest of our educational system, main- 
tain a correspondence with each Principal during each term, 
and collect annually the statistical and financial reports from 
all the schools, compiling them and making a summary for 
the information of the General Board. 

As the members of the General Board are submitted to the 
General conferences of the Church in April and October of 
each year for acceptance or rejection, so every Stake Board 
is to be voted for in like manner at quarterly Stake confer- 
ences, and where local or Seminary Boards are organized, 
the same is to be done with them at the respective Ward 
conferences. 

The various Stake Boards are also instructed to appoint 
visiting committees whose duty it is to visit their respective 
schools at least once each term during one whole day, ex- 
amine the records, meet with the faculty in special session if 
they should desire to do so, and make a written report to 
their board concerning the condition of the school as they 
find it. Besides this ofificial visit by the visiting committee, 
every member of the board is expected to pay occasional 
visits to the school and to inform itself about its affairs, and 
to do everything in his power to advance the interests of 
the school. Every board should have at least one lady mem- 
ber. 

The principals of Church schools are held responsible for 
the spiritual, moral, and intellectual condition and progress 
of their respective institutions. In view of this fact, the 



/ 

1 66 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

selection of principals and teachers is a matter of great 
moment, and the General Superintendent has strict instruc- 
tions to guard, with the most earnest solicitude, the entrance 
into our Church school system of any undesirable elements. 
Boards of education are instructed to have also a matron 
appointed for their respective institutions to give such instruc- 
tions of a moral and physical nature to the lady-students as 
may be deemed most suitable for their sex. Modes of in- 
struction and discipline are thus provided, which, by com- 
bining scholastic with domestic education, are likely to secure 
to our students an intellectual, moral, and spiritual training, 
that qualifies them for the requirements of practical life and 
for the attainment of the highest spiritual aspirations. 

Unsound religious notions, partisan politics, and impure 
influences of all kinds are guarded against in our schools 
with the utmost rigor, although there is observed, on the 
other hand, a spirit of broad liberty which has enabled hun- 
dreds of students not of our faith to avail themselves of the 
benefits of our educational system to their advantage and 
fullest satisfaction. Parents, therefore, may entrust their 
sons and daughters with perfect confidence to our keeping, 
and can be assured, that their children will be looked after 
in and out of school with a solicitude which even the domes- 
tic hearth, in some instances, may not be able to equal. 

GRADES OF SCHOOLS. 

The diflficultics in the way of successfully carrying out the 
ideas of the General Board were chiefly of a financial nature. 
The funds available for appropriations to assist the schools 
were not adequate to the rapidly increasing demands. The 
people, however, became aroused to the necessity of educat- 
ing their children according to methods more in harmony 
with the spirit of the Gospel, and so schools of all grades 
flourished for a few years. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 167 

But after the inauguration of the public free school system 
with its improved plans of instruction, the necessity of church 
schools of the primary and intermediate grades became less 
urgent, the more so as many of the denominational schools 
above alluded to, succumbed to the change of affairs. The 
main reason, however, for discontinuing our seminaries, arid 
some Stake academies of the intermediate grade, is to be 
found in the public school system itself. By wise legislation 
it is provided, that the public schools shall be kept free from 
partisan politics, sectarian influences, and the inculcation of 
infidel theories. These sound restrictions guarantee in some 
measure at least to the children of our people, a so-called 
common English education without the bias of sectarianism 
or the negative tendencies of atheism. 

The curriculum of the district schools covers in fact all the 
branches, except Theology, that were taught in the Church 
schools of the primary and intermediate grades. The exist- 
ence of the latter ceased, therefore, to be a necessity, and 
pupils were advised to avail themselves ot the privileges of 
our public school system. Provisions for instruction in The- 
ology, judiciously excluded from the public schools, were 
made by the establishment of Religion Classes, outside and 
independent ot the regular school work. This topic will be 
treated under a special head hereafter. 

College's. 

Appreciating the earnest efforts of the Regency of the 
University of Utah to raise the institution under their charge 
to a standard of scientific and literary ef^ciency second to 
none in the West, the General Board of Education, by agree- 
ment with the Regency, founded a chair of Geology at the 
State University with the right to appoint the professor for 
it. 

It was also concluded by the General Board to authorize 



1 68 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

the three existing colleges of our Church school organization, 
viz: the Brigham Young Academy, at Provo, the Brigham 
Young College, at Logan, and the Latter-day Saints' College, 
at Salt Lake City, to pursue collegiate courses in specified 
sciences, and other branches of knowledge, and thus form, as 
it were, the climax of the scholastic part of our educational 
system. 

The work of these three institutions is so closely inter- 
woven with the development of our educational system, as a 
whole, that an outline of the history of their development, 
without special reference to each of them, would be extremely 
fragmentary and in some measure even incomprehensible. 
It is, therefore, essential to make the reader somewhat 
acquainted with these institutions, and to do so I insert here 
the historical reviews and some specifications of each, as they 
appear in their respective circulars. 

I 

Historical. 

With a view to counteract the tendency of modern educa- 
tion toward infidelity, President Brigham Young did all in his 
power to introduce a system of training that should include 
the principles of the Gospel, the germ of which system was 
planted in the founding of the Brigham Young Academy. 
In the deed of trust, executed October i6, 1875, it is ex- 
pressly set forth that the Bible and other standard works ot 
the Church shall be among the regular text-books, and that 
nothing shall be taught in any way conflicting with the prin- 
ciples of the Gospel. 

The first Board of Trustees consisted of seven members, 
appointed for life. 

A preliminary session of the Academy was inaugurated 
soon after its establishment, but the first academic year com- 
menced August 21, 1876, since which time it has not only 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 169 

educated teachers for itself, but largely supplied the district 
schools in this State, and many in adjoining states and terri- 
tories. Its last great work has been to furnish principals 
and assistant teachers for stake academies and L. D. S. insti- 
tutions throughout Zion. It would probably be difficult to 
find another institution, which, in so short a time, has be- 
come the alma mater of so wide a system of education. 

The history of the institution is one of constant increase of 
efficiency in its corps of instructors on the one hand, opposed, 
on the other, by a series of financial embarrassments meeting 
it at nearly every step of its progress. It has from the first 
been somewhat inadequate in its accommodations. Its first 
location on Centre street was in a building erected tor com- 
mercial and theatrical purposes. By the opening of the 
eighth academic year, two commodious additions had been 
completed; but scarcely had the new rooms been in use six 
months, when, on the night of January 24, 1884, the entire 
structure was destroyed by fire. There being no insurance, 
it was a total loss, and one which the Academy, depending 
as it did, almost solely upon the tuition fees, could ill afford 
to sustain. However, only one day of the regular session 
was lost by the catastrophe; for through the energetic action 
of the Board and Faculty, and the kindness of its patrons, 
suitable quarters for the remaining two terms were immedi- 
ately secured. 

The year following, about two-thirds of the large Z. C. M. 
I. warehouse was leased and subdivided according to the 
wants of the institution into eleven rooms, with capacity 
for the accommodation of over four hundred students, and 
better suited in many respects than was the old building. 

Another historical feature of this progressive institution 
was inaugurated in 1890, when the former trustees, executors, 
heirs, and assigns of Brigham Young, conveyed to a new 
Board of Trustees, all the real estate held by the former 



I70 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

trustees, giving them power to sell the same for the benefit 
of the Academy, and authority to fill all vacancies that might 
occur in the Board of Trustees. 

At the opening of the second semester of the year 1891-2, 
the school left its old quarters in the Z, C. M. I. building and 
entered its present commodious home. Some important 
changes made possible by the new building and necessary 
growing demands of the school were now inaugurated. The 
corps of instructors was increased, the regular work of each 
teacher was made more special, the courses were extended 
to cover four years, and degrees were offered to regular 
graduates. 

SPECIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

TAe Department of Music. 

With a view to meet the growing demands for instructions 
in instrumental and vocal music, the Brigham Young Academy 
has engaged additional teachers and is now prepared to offer 
thorough courses in all three branches. First: Vocal Music 
and Voice culture; second: Instrumental Music; third: Church 
Organ Music. 

The courses offered are as follows: First and second 
semesters, a, Sight Reading; b, Harmony Simplified; c. 
Theory and composition of Music, (continues through the 
year.); d. Piano Technic; e. Church Organ;/, Voice Culture, 
(continues throughout the year); g. Phrasing and Expression. 
Concerts and musical recitals are occasionally held for the 
purpose of affording students the necessary practice. 

Normal Courses for M. I. Officers. 

This course is established for the purpose of affording the 
officers and members of the Mutual Improvement Associa- 
tions instructions in proper methods of conducting meetings, 
methods of conducting special classes, and of affording them 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 7 i 

opportunities for such studies as will better prepare them for 
their responsible duties. The Mutual Improvement Associ- 
ations are recognized as among the best factors for the 
proper instruction of the young, and anything which tends 
to their betterment, tends to the betterment of the young 
people. There will be but one class conducted per year, be- 
ginning October 21st, and continuing twenty weeks. In- 
structions are given in home preparations; presentation of 
preparations; preparations for holding meetings; conducting 
meetings; managing recreations; creating finances; keeping 
records; making reports. 

In addition to these the students are permitted to elect 
two regular courses in the High School, or in any other 
department of the Academy. This course is under the im- 
mediate direction ot the Presidency of the Young Men's 
Mutual Improvement Association. 

Normal Course of Instruction for Sunday School Teachers 

and Officers. 

Realizing the great importance of the Sunday school in the 
religious and moral training of the young, and realizing, too, 
the necessity ot having trained teachers for this important 
work, the Academy offers a Normal course for the prepara- 
tion of Sunday school teachers and officers as follows: Instruc- 
tions in the organization and management of Sunday schools; 
in the object and aim of Sunday schools; in the qualifications 
of teachers, in methods of organizing and conducting classes; 
in the methods of teaching and training children; in child- 
study. In addition to this, students in this course are per- 
mitted to elect ten hours from any of the courses offered in 
the Academy. A model Sabbath school is conducted every 
Sunday in the Academy, in which the methods and principles 
taught during the week are illustrated in practice. The 
entire work is under the immediate control of the Deseret 
Sunday School Union Board. 



1/2 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Young Ladies' M. I. Course. 

Instructions are here given in the method of conducting 
meetings, arranging programs, presenting subjects, adapted 
to the work laid out in the Young Ladies' Guide. This class 
is held once a week during the school year. At intervals, 
joint sessions of the young men's and young ladies' improve- 
ment associations are held, in which the proper methods of 
conducting these meetings are explained and illustrated. 

Domestic Oj'gajtiaation. 

The disciplinary part of the Academy is placed as much 
as possible in the hands of the students, with the view of 
developing in them the power of self-government. Obedience 
to the necessary rules and regulations is enjoined upon all, 
both in and out of school, but students are taught to yield 
obedience from a sense of duty and right. As soon as a 
student demonstrates his inability to govern and control 
himself, the faculty comes to his assistance. 

The Domestic Organization divides Provo City into four 
Domestic Wards, each of which is presided over by a presi- 
dent and two counsellors, nominated by the President, and 
sustained by the members of the ward over which they pre- 
side. Visitors are appointed whose duty it is to call upon 
the students at their boarding houses in the capacity of block 
teachers. Seniors are appointed over each boarding house. 
Ward meetings are held every week in which instructions 
are given and reports of Seniors and Visitors are handed in. 
The similarity between this and the Church Ward organiza- 
tion is apparent. Its efificiency in giving necessary aid to 
eyery student in the Academy has been satisfactorily demon- 
strated. 

Rules and Regulations: The Academy assumes that all 
applicants for admission are of good moral character, that 
they are ladies and gentlemen in the truest sense of the word. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 173 

ICvidences of good moral character must be given when re- 
quired. It assumes, also, that they will continue to conduct 
themselves as ladies and gentlemen, and that they enter the 
school for the purpose of study and advancement. If students 
justify these assumptions by their conduct, they will find 
everything in the school to aid and assist them. The follow- 
ing rules and regulations are intended merely as a guide, not 
as a complete code: 

Riclcs and Regulations. 

1. All students are subject to the rules and regulations 
both in and out of school. 

2. Profanity and obscenity in any form are strictly for- 
bidden. 

3. The use of tobacco and strong drink is not allowed. 

4. Students shall not attend public or private parties not 
under control of responsible persons. We recommend that 
students attend no parties not under the control of the 
Academy. 

5. Irregularity in habits, keeping late hours, having im- 
proper associates, and visiting places of questionable repute 
are strictly forbidden. 

6. All students must be diligent in their studies, regular 
in attendance at exercises and classes, and must deport 
themselves in a manner becoming true ladies and gentle- 
men. 

7. All students not under the immediate care of parents 
or guardians and who are away from home after regulation 
hours are required to report their absence to the President 
next day. 

8. Where two or more students reside in one house, one 
of them will be appointed Senior. 

9. Students will be visited bi-weekly by representatives 
of the President. 



174 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

10. No student can honorably discontinue attendance, 
except at the close of a semester, without obtaining from the 
President an honorable release. 

11. In case of injudicious expenditure of means, any stu- 
dent may be called to account by the President. 

12. All persons having complaints against any student 
should report the same while such student is in attendance. 

13. Violation of any of the rules of the Academy lays the 
offender liable to suspension or expulsion. 

Lzdrarj/. 

The library contains an excellent collection of nearly three 
thousand volumes on theology, theory and practicing of 
teaching, methods of instruction, psychology, the science of 
education, literature, science, art, etc. Several ot the best 
educational journals, and the principal papers of the State 
are always accessible to students. Students have free access 
to library books, subject only to necessary regulations. 

Laboratories. 

A Chemical Laboratory, a Physical Laboratory, and a Bi- 
ological Laboratory have been established in which oppor- 
tunities are offered for practical instructions in Chemistry, 
Physics, Biology, Botany, and Physiology. These labora- 
tories are situated on the upper floor of the Academy build- 
ing, are well equipped and are provided with the necessary 
apparatus and floor space for large classes in their respective 
departments. 

Museum. 

While the Academy has quite a number of geological, 
mineralogical, botanical, and other specimens in the museum, 
it respectfully asks that its friends, especially the members 
and patrons of the school, make such donations and contri- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 75 

butions to this department as their kindness and ability will 
permit. A complete record of all such contributions will be 
kept in the archives of the Academy. In sending specimens, 
please state the name of the donor, the place where found, 
adding such other facts connected with the specimens as will 
be of interest to the student. 

SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS. 

Poly soph teal Society . 

This Society, in charge of one of the regular teachers, 
affords recreation and opportunities for acquiring general in- 
formation and practice in public speaking. Evening meet- 
ings are held once a week, at which lectures, readings, reci- 
tations, musical exercises, and the like are given. The public 
is always cordially invited. 

Pedagogiiim. 

This is a Normal organization. Its purpose is to afford 
Normal students opportunities for additional instruction in 
their chosen profession. Meetings are held every two weeks, 
at which lectures by professional educators are given, and 
methods of instruction and school management are dis- 
cussed. 

Commercial Lazv Club. 

The Commercial Law Club, membership in which is open 
to all students and friends of the Academy, holds meetings 
every Wednesday evening, at which lectures are given by 
prominent lawyers and business men, and questions in com- 
mercial law and civil government that do not come in the 
regular instructions, are discussed and answered. 

Like the other clubs and associations, this is one ot those 
incidental features of the Academy which adds so much to 
the pleasure and profit of the students. 



176 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Science Society. 

This Society, in charge of the students in science, holds 
regular sessions, at which lectures and talks by specialists 
and leading students are given, papers read, and instructive 
questions discussed and answered. The object of the society 
is to supplement the regular class instruction, and also afford 
the students opportunities for public speaking. 

In connection with the Science Society is a Field Club, 
which, during the spring and autumn, makes frequent ex- 
cursions to the fields, meadows, hills, and mountains, for the 
purpose of studying nature and collecting specimens. 

The Literary Department. 

This is an organization especially for the benefit of the 
classes in English, Elocution, and Literature. Its programs 
consist of the reading of the lighter classics and plays, the 
delivery of original work in composition, and the holding of 
literary contests in stories, lectures, sermons, orations, etc. 
The purpose is to cultivate the literary taste of students and 
to furnish opportunity for acquiring facility in public speak- 
ing. 

Military Department. 

This department has been organized for the purpose of 
affording the students of the Academy advantages of military 
drill and discipline, and at the same time of placing them in 
possession of the knowledge necessary to fit them for effici- 
ent military service in times of their country's needs. 
During drill the rules and regulations of the state militia are 
enforced, as far as possible. 

Summer Schools. 

In conneccion with the Brigham Young Academy, summer 
schools have been conducted for several years, during vaca- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 77 

tion. To give some idea of the magnitude and influence of 
these gatherings, it needs only to be stated that they were 
attended by several hundred teachers from nearly all the 
counties of Utah, and from Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, and 
Arizona. Not only were many of the leading teachers of the 
State engaged to conduct classes, or to give lectures, but, 
educators of national repute were employed, and consequent- 
ly these summer schools became at once leading factors in 
the educational affairs of Utah. 

BmOHRfU YOUNG COLtUEGE. 

History. 

On the 24th of July, 1877, about a month prior to his 
death, President Brigham Young conveyed to a board of 
seven Trustees, 9,642 acres of land, located south of Logan 
City, the profits and issues of which were to be used for the 
support of an institution of learning to be known as the 
Brigham Young College. The deed of trust provides that 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be the basis o\ College dis- 
cipline, and that, in addition to the work usually provided 
for in the curricula of higher institutions, instruction shall be 
given the students in the important duties of their various 
Church callings. 

On August 7, 1877, the Board of Trustees held its first 
meeting, and began the work of organizing the College in 
accordance with the requirements of the deed of trust. 
Owing, however, to the immature condition of its finances 
the College was not opened for the admission of students 
until the 9th of September, 1878. Since that date it has ex- 
perienced varying degrees of prosperity. The endowment 
could not at once be made to yield a revenue sufficient to 
bring the College immediately to a high standard. The pur- 
chase and construction of suitable buildings and the provision 
ot necessary apparatus, entailed expenses which anticipated 



1/8 SCHOOL AND MRESIDE. 

the rent of the land for several years, and thereby reduced 
the means for meeting the ordinary expenses of the institu- 
tion. It has progressed, however, by steady and healthful 
growth until the present time. Each year has marked an 
improvement in its facilities and an increase in its strength. 

Appreciating the progress that had been made, the Board 
of Trustees, at a meeting held in June, 1894, more fully 
organized the College and increased its courses of instruc- 
tion. Chairs were established tor English Language and 
Literature, French and German, Science and Art of Teach- 
ing, History and Political Science, Mathematics and Astron- 
omy, Physics and Chemistry, and Biology; and other im- 
provements were decided upon which have greatly added to 
the facilities of the institution for advanced collegiate 
work. 

In the organization of Church schools, the mission of the 
different Stake Academies, was, in September, 1892, assigned 
in the Cache Valley Stake to the College already in opera- 
tion. 

General Policy. 

It is the general policy of the College to promote the 
higher educational interests of the people, broadly and gen- 
erously interpreted. It is its aim to provide an education 
liberal and thorough, embracing not only mental discipline 
and physical training; but moral and spiritual culture, as an 
essential part of the development of a symmetrical charac- 
ter. 

In order to furnish the discipline and the knowledge nec- 
essary to the successful prosecution of advanced work, nearly 
all the studies of the regular courses in the earlier years are 
prescribed. But when the powers of the students are devel- 
oped by the required work, the principle of election is intro- 
duced; and during the junior and senior years, students are 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 179 

permitted to select the subjects in which they are most in- 
terested. The opportunity is thereby criven for the encour- 
agement of individual adaptation and for a more special pre- 
paration for the various avocations of life. 

Recognizing the importance of religion in all true culture, 
theological studies are prescribed in all the courses. The 
students are required to attend devotional exercises daily. 

Location. 

The College is situated in one of the most desirable parts 
of Logan City, the county seat of Cache County. The city 
is supplied with electric lights, and has connections by tele- 
phone with the surrounding towns. It is beautifully located 
and remarkably healthful. Its streets are broad and well 
drained, and on either side of them flow clear streams of 
pure, mountain water, bordered with shade trees. With a 
population of about six thousand people, Logan combines 
the activity and good order of a small city with the freedom 
and sociability of quiet village life — conditions highly favor- 
able not only to study, but to social and general culture. 

Residence in Logan offers many advantages to students. 
Every year there are opportunities to attend a large number 
of lectures of a high order. Logan is also a noted musical 
center, and excellent concerts are given from time to time. 

Buildings and Grounds. 

The College occupies a campus of seven acres, situated at 
the corner of First and College streets, on the north fork of 
Logan river. The lower campus, a level area across the 
river from the College buildings, furnishes space for base 
ball, foot ball, and other physical sports. The College build- 
ings comprise the Main building, the Laboratory, the Presi- 
dent's Residence, and the Dormitory. The Main Building 
is constructed of brick and stone. It is seventy feet front 
and thirty-six feet deep, four stories in height. This build- 



l8o SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

ing- contains the assembly room, library and reading room, 
general museum, and recitation rooms for classes in History, 
Modern Languages, and Pedagogy. The Laboratory is a 
substantial stone structure, fifty feet long by thirty-eight 
wide, two stories in height. It contains the physical and 
biological, and the chemical laboratories and recitation 
rooms. These buildings are well lighted and ventilated, 
and are provided with steam heat, water and electric lights. 

In addition to these buildings, the second floor of the 
Preston Block, heretofore known as the Tithing Office Build- 
ing, has recently been placed at the service ©f the College, 
and the Thatcher Opera House has been secured for the Col- 
lege Lecture Hall. The former building contains the recita- 
tion rooms for classes in English and Mathematics, the latter, 
situated at the corner of Second and Main streets, is a mag- 
nificent building one hundred feet long by fifty wide, and 
contains the lecture hall with a seating capacity of eight 
hundred; it is provided with all essential modern improve- 
ments. 

Through the co-operation of the Logan City Board of 
Education the Woodruff School has been placed at the ser- 
vice of the College for a Normal Training School, to be used 
in connection with the work of the Normal Department. 
This commodious structure is situated opposite the College 
campus, at the corner of First and College streets. In it 
provision is made for all the work of the common school 
grades. 

The College grounds, being only one block west of Main 
street, are in a central yet quiet location, within easy reach 
from all parts of the city. 

Museum. 

The College Museum occupies the large north room on 
the top floor of the main building. During the past year the 
Museum has been greatly enlarged by contributions from the 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. l8i 

friends of the College, including many missionaries who are 
laboring in different countries. The Museum is supplied 
with specimens illustrative ot general geology, mineralogy, 
lithology, paleontology, metallurgy, botany, zoology, and 
archaeology. 

Contributions of fossils, ores, animals, relics, and other 
material ot value to the museum, are solicited from all per- 
sons who are interested in the work. All collections sent in 
this way will be carefully labeled and preserved, and the 
name of the donor will be kept on record. Express or freight 
charges on such gifts will be paid by the College. 

Apparatus. 

The College is equipped with select and choice apparatus 
for illustrating the courses in natural and physical science 
and surveying. 

Library and Reading Room. 

The Library occupies the north room on the second floor 
of the main building. This room which has been recently 
furnished with new shelving, reading slopes tor current papers 
and magazines and with reading tables, contains ample 
accommodations for one hundred and twenty readers. It is 
well lighted and ventilated, is supplied with steam heat and 
electric lights, and, during the school year, is open to the 
public as a Reading Room. The Reading Room is supplied 
with all the current periodicals of Utah, and with the most 
important newspapers and magazines of the United States, 
and numerous works of reference. 

The College Librar)^ has been greatly augmented during 
the last academic year by contributions from the trustees, 
faculty, and friends of the institution, including the Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica, a complete set of Lord Kingsborough's 
rare and expensive works on Mexican Antiquities, a collec- 
tion of one hundred and seventy-five valuable miscellaneous 



1 82 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

works, upward of two hundred historical and miscellaneous 
works, and other large and valuable contributions. 

The Library at present contains upward of 2,500 bound 
volumes and 600 pamphlets, and additions will be made from 
time to time to meet the requirements of students in the 
several departments. 

The books are arranged according to subjects by the"Dewey 
Decimal" system of classification, and an alphabetic index re- 
ferring in detail to each volume by author, title, and subject 
is being prepared on cards, giving the classification number, 
book number, and other references which enable those using 
the library to exhaust its resources on any subject under in- 
vestigation. The plan of classification is such that when the 
books are placed on the shelves in the numerical order of 
their class numbers, each book will stand in its logical place 
with reference to related subjects and not be disturbed by any 
future accessories to the library. 

College Societies. 

The following literary societies are maintained by the 
students and Faculty of the College, and afford opportunity 
for acquiring general information and obtaining practice in 
public speaking and parliamentary procedure: Phi Polio 
Society, Sapho Club, Philomathic Society, and the Polysoph- 
ical Society. Of these the Phi Polio is conducted exclusively 
by men, and the Sapho by women, while the other two are 
open to all students of the College. 

In connection with the Polysophical Society, which is pre- 
sided over by one of the College professors, a series of popu- 
lar lectures will be given in the College Lecture Hall, by a 
number of the best speakers that can be secured. These 
lectures will be given at intervals of about two weeks during 
the school year, and will cover a wide range of subjects of 
general interest. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 83 

Alumni Association. 

The Alumni Association was organized in May, 1893. All 
those who hold diplomas or certificates of graduation from 
any of the courses of the College, and those holding special 
certificates for work completed in the College prior to 1890, 
are eligible to membership. 

The object of the association is to promote in every possi- 
ble way the interests of the College, and to perpetuate among 
the graduates a feeling of regard for one another and of at- 
tachment to their Alma Mater. The association meets an- 
nually on the day of Commencement. 

Scholarships. 

As an encouragement to students who have maintained a 
high standing in the College, and as an assistance to worthy 
young men and women who are desirous of obtaining normal 
training, thirty scholarships have been established by the 
College, each of which entitles one student to free tuition in 
the Normal Course for one year. 

IiHTTER-DAY SHIflTS' COliLtHGE. 

Historical. 

In the autumn of 1886, a school for general instruction was 
established in Salt Lake City, under the name of the Salt 
Lake Stake Academy. The object ot the movement was to 
provide opportunity for education in secular branches, co-or- 
dinately with a study of the principles of Theology belong- 
ing to the religious profession of the Latter-day Saints, and a 
training in the duties pertaining to membership in the Church. 
For a period of two years the Academy continued in success- 
ful operation, the instruction being confined to the grades 
usually known as the Preparatory and che Intermediate. 

Soon after the close of the second academic year, in ac- 
cordance with the suggestions and instructions of the Gen- 



1 84 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

eral Board of Education of the Church, the Presidency and 
High Council of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion organized a 
Stake Board of Education, "to take charge of, and promote 
the interests of education in the Stake." 

At the beginning of the third scholastic year (September, 
1888,) an ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT was established, and 
thorough courses of instruction were provided in Science, 
Language, and Mathematics. At the same time, the Faculty 
was increased by the engagement of other competent instruc- 
tors, and an adequate supply of new apparatus for demonstra- 
tion and experiment was procured. 

At the close of the first term of the third academic year, 
(November, 1888,) owing to the limited capacity of the build- 
ing occupied by the institution, and the increasing number 
of applicants for the higher grades, it was found necessary to 
discontinue the Preparatory Department. 

On the 15th of May, 1889, by formal action of the Direc- 
tors, and with the approval of the President of the General 
Board of Education, the name of the institution Avas changed 
to "Latter-day Saints' College." 

Until the close of the fifth academic year, (May, 1891,) 
the institution occupied the building known as the Social 
Hall, with which are associated so many historical reminis- 
cences. At that time, however, the authorities of the College 
concluded that the growing needs of the institution rendered 
it impracticable to continue in the same quarters, and other 
and more commodious buildings were provided on First 
North Street, between First and Second West. 

The sentiment of the Church authorities and of the people 
generally, regarding the establishment of Church Schools, 
cannot be more clearly expressed than by the following ex- 
tract from the letter of President Woodruff of the General 
Board, in which the appointment of Stake Boards of Educa- 
tion was urged: 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 185 

"We feel that the time has arrived when the proper educa- 
tion of our children should be taken in hand by us as a peo- 
ple. Religious training is practically excluded from the dis- 
trict schools. The perusal of books that we value as divine 
record is forbidden. Our children, if left to the training they 
receive in these schools, will grow up entirely ignorant of 
those principles of salvation for which the Latter-day Saints 
have made so many sacrifices. To permit this condition of 
things to exist among us would be criminal. The desire is 
universally expressed by all thinking people in the Church, 
that we should have schools wherein the Bible, the Book of 
Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants can be 
used as text books; and where the principles of our religion 
may form a part of the teaching of the schools." 

In accordance with these sentiments the Latter-day Saints' 
College is conducted. 

The career of the school is now a matter of record, both in 
the archives of the institution, and in the hearts and mem- 
ories of its patrons. The patronage bestowed is a convinc- 
ing proof that the people recognize the necessity of an edu- 
cational system which shall provide for the harmonious devel- 
opement ot the mental and spiritual faculties of the children 
of Zion. Only by such a system can symetrical growth be 
realized; and to assist in bringing about this result is the 
earnest desire of the officers of the Latter-day Saints' Col- 
lege. 

SPECIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

Ladies' Class. 

A special class, comprising all lady students of the institu- 
tion, meets once in two weeks, in charge of the Lady Super- 
intendent. The exercises consist of instructions on matters 
of hygiene and habit, and other topics of special importance 
to the members, and also regular and systematic calisthenic 



1 86 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

drill. This course is required of all lady students, and 
periodical examinations will be held as in other classes. 

Theological, 

Students are tabulated on the College records according to 
their Church standing, and every opportunity is given for the 
exercise of religious duties. 

The daily opening exercises comprise singing and prayer. 

Theological class exercises are held daily, as before speci- 
fied, in each department. Regular attendance upon these 
classes is required of every regular student. A general theo- 
logical class meeting, including all students of the College, is 
held bi-weekly. 

A priesthood meeting convenes at intervals of two weeks. 

The Field Club, 

This is composed of students of the advanced classes, and 
others interested and qualified. The members engage fre- 
quently in excursions and visits to places of interest for prac- 
tical study, including many of the leading establishments of 
industrial importance in Salt Lake City and vicinity, at all 
of which, the members of the club are accorded all possible 
courtesy and assistance. At suitable times, excursions are 
taken to the canyons and mountains, the rivers and lakes of 
the neighborhood. On all such trips the Field Club is ac- 
companied by at least one of the Faculty. For such practical 
study Salt Lake City affords abundant facilities, and judging 
from the interest displayed by the members on all excursions 
of the club, these natural advantages are very fully appreci- 
ated. Many valuable collections of specimens have been 
made on these pleasant, healthful, and instructive trips. 

The Students' Society. 

The object of this organization is to provide mental recre- 
ation, and to furnish opportunities for acquiring general in- 




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i'icJitlkj, > 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 87 

formation and practice in public exercises. The chairman of 
the society is appointed from the members of the Faculty; 
other officers are chosen from the advanced students of the 
higher departments. All students are eligible for member- 
ship in the Society, and visitors are invited to any of its ses- 
sions. Evening meetings are held weekly, at which lectures 
are given by prominent lecturers of Utah, advanced students, 
and members of the College Faculty; and exercises of a 
musical and literary nature are rendered by the members. 
The large attendance of students and visitors, and the inter- 
est manifested by them at the meetings, prove the esteem, 
and appreciation with which the labors of the Society are 
regarded. 

EDUCATIONAL COLLECTIONS. 

Apparatus, Etc. 

The College is well equipped with apparatus for the ilus- 
tration of all the scientific studies taught. This includes 
chemical reagents and materials; machines and deyices for 
the study of matter and force, gravitation, mechanics, motion, 
sound, light, heat, and electricity. For physiology, charts 
and manikins of the most improved styles are supplied; also a 
human skeleton and other preparations, and the bones of 
animals. For Natural Science there is a cabinet of geologi- 
cal and mineralogical specimens, including fossils of many 
kinds. Besides these, the rich collections at the Deseret 
Museum are open to the students. 

There is provided a stereoptican for dark room projections. 
It is, moreover, the intention of the officers of the College to 
add to the appurtenances as fast as growing capacity requires 
and means allow. 

Donations and contributions of scientific interest will be 
greatfully received. 



1 88 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Regulations. 

The regulations are identical with those enjoined upon all 
Church schools by the General Board. By careful usage 
they have been found absolutely essential to the maintenance 
of the high moral and spiritual standard of these institutions. 
Students are subject to the regulations of the institution dur- 
ing the College hours and at all times. 

Stake Academies. 

The intention of the General Board of Education to estab- 
lish a Church school in every Stake of Zion, resulted in the 
organization of academies in different Stakes. Most of them, 
however, were only prospective academies, that is to say, 
their kind and grade of studies were nearly parallel with che 
so-called eight grades of the district school curriculum. 
A few were authorized to add academic studies to their 
plan. 

All school boards and principals were enjoined not to 
promise or profess any kind or grade of work tor which they 
were either professionally or financially unprepared. This 
conservative course, it was believed, would insure a steady 
growth in public confidence. The influence of the schools 
would be exerted to assist the Priesthood, and the spirit of 
the Gospel would thus extend its benefits, by and by, into 
every fireside of the Saints. 

The rapidly increasing demand for teachers to fill the 
newly created positions, became a serious question. As may 
well be imagined, it became very difficult to find efficiently 
qualified teachers for the entire service. The recently in- 
augurated free school system made the supply still less ade- 
quate to the demand, and for these positions crowds of pro- 
fessional teachers were engaged from abroad in the public 
schools. 

However, it must be said to the credit of most of these 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 189 

young "makeshifts" that volunteered to "help out" for the 
time being, that they went at their work with a prayerful 
heart, in humble consciousness of their dependence on the 
Spirit of God, willing to seek and obey counsel, determined 
to win and maintain the confidence and affection of their 
pupils, to set an example in conduct and diligence, and to 
combine scholastic with domestic education so far as circum- 
stances should enable them so to do. 

For the performance of this glorious mission, many of them 
made heavy and long continued financial sacrifices, repeat- 
edly refusing enticing offers for more remunerative positions 
in the public school service. Such a course could not fail 
to make their labors beneficial to their students and accept- 
able unto the Lord. 

To speak of the teachers and not mention the members of 
the various boards of education would be an act of injustice. 
These brethren assumed the tedious labors and heavy finan- 
cial responsibilities without any prospect of remuneration or 
of public appreciation. It was a new movement in Israel. 
From the General Board of Education and the General Super- 
intendent down to every Stake and local board, principal, 
and faculty, nobody had antecedents to follow. The Brig- 
ham Young Academy, at Provo, the mother institution, was 
the only pattern, and that school had to grow by its own ex- 
perience, under the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, on 
the principle of "here a little, and there a little, line upon 
line, and precept upon precept." 

The first corner-stake of the Latter-day Saints' educational 
system was driven by President Brigham Young in an injunc- 
tion to the writer on the eve of his going to Provo in 1876, 
to organize the Academy as the first Church school in Zion. 
"I want you," said President Young, "to remember that you 
ought not to teach even the alphabet or the multiplication 
table without the Spirit of God. That is all. God bless you. 
Good bye." 



T90 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

From this corner stake, lines have been run to other stakes, 
foundations have been laid within these lines, and layers upon 
layers have been reared above one another, and the work is 
still progressing onward and heavenward. It was only a 
small shoot, this first planting by the Prophet Brigham 
Young, but out of it grew a Banyan tree that spread its 
branches far and wide. These branches, drooping down- 
ward, have taken root again and are growing, flourishing, 
and multiplying in fruitful soil under the rain and sunshine 
of the Spirit of the Gospel ot the Latter Days. 

But I was about to speak of the members of the various 
boards of education. What financial responsibilities did they 
incur! They had to meet, in some instances, all the expen- 
ses for teachers' salaries, buildings, furniture, and utensils. 
It is true, not all of them comprehend the importance ot their 
task, the sacredness of their obligation, or the necessity of 
devotion to the cause, but the neglect or indifference of 
some only increased the burden upon the shoulders of the 
rest. 

For the sake of keeping their Church school running, some 
members have assumed heavy personal responsibilities. They 
have also continually spent their time and means to attend 
board meetings, public examinations, and have travelled 
within their Stakes in the interest of the schools committed 
to their care. Even the public appreciation of their devoted 
labors was sometimes too scanty to be felt as a stimulus. 

The public is a heterogeneous entity, given to paroxisms 
of unreasoning excitement on the one hand and to very slow 
comprehension of beneficient and enduring principles of truth 
on the other. Comparatively few in any community rise 
above the level of mediocrity and become capable of seeing 
the drift of events and of recognizing things in their true 
light. Thus it happens that all labors in the cause of truth 
have to be performed in the spirit of sacrifice, long suffering, 







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SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 191 

and devotion. But these very sacrifices react upon the mes- 
sengers ot good tidings imparting strength ot character and 
intensified faith; qualities which attract a following of con- 
genial spirits until the movement spreads and the work be- 
comes a dominent factor among the people. 

These were the conditions of the first period of our Church 
school organization, as far as the Stake academies are con- 
cerned, and as if to bring all these difficulties to a climax, 
there set in that great financial depression under which our 
whole country has been suffering for the last three years or 
more, in addition to which the property of the Church was 
seized by the government, and expensive lawsuits were 
forced upon the Authorities and the people, so that the Gen- 
eral Board was obliged to discontinue the accustomed annual 
appropriations tor the time being. 

In consequence of these drawbacks, a number of our Church 
schools had to discontinue, while others were prevented from 
carrying out such plans of advancement as they had in con- 
templation. There were several of these Stake academies, 
however, that had not only passed the ordeal of hard times 
successfully, but had grewm in spite of them, so that they 
are now in a position to apply to the General Board of Edu- 
cation for an extension of their charter to the High School 
Grade. 

Several of the suspended academies are contemplating an 
early resumption of their labors, while in a few Stakes suit- 
able buildings have been erected already. These buildings 
have been rented to trustees of district schools until the re- 
.spective boards shall find themselves able to open them ac- 
cording to the original design. 

Seminaries. 

In response to many solicitations, the General Board 
granted permission to several Stake boards to establish in 



192 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

various localities Church schools of the exclusively primary 
and intermediate grades, under the name of seminaries. 
These schools had their own local boards, subject, however, 
to their respective Stake Boards of education. 

The rule that religious instruction is to be combined with 
scholastic and domestic education was to be strictly main- 
tained in these schools also. The results growing out of 
these labors began to be felt among the rising generation to 
an extent that surpassed the most sanguine expectations of 
their promoters. 

Religion Classes. 

The nature of this important feature of our educational 
system is best explained by the subjoined circular letter of 
the First Presidency on the subject: 

Organisation of Religion Classes. 

Salt Lake City, Utah, October 12, 1890. 

To the Pj^esidents of Stakes, Bishops, and all whom it may 

Concern : 

Dear Brethren and Sisters: — The all-absorbing mo- 
tive that led the great majority of the Latter-day Saints to 
forsake their homes in the various nations to dwell in these 
mountain valleys was an ardent desire to serve the Lord 
more perfectly and with a better understanding. In too many 
instances, in the course of the years, this grand object has 
been lost sight of in the toil for daily existence, and less 
noble aims have largely taken the place of the endeavor to 
learn the ways of the Lord and of the effort to walk in His 
paths. This benumbing influence on our spiritual life is 
widely felt in our homes, and more particularly affects our 
children, whose faith in the great latter-day work has not 
been developed and strengthened by the experience which 
their elders have had in lands beyond the borders of Zion. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 193 

Nor does the training which our youth receive in the district 
schools increase their feelings of devotion to God and love 
for His cause, for, as is well known, all teachings of a reli- 
gious character are rigorously excluded from the studies per- 
mitted in these institutions. 

To lessen this great evil, and counteract the tendencies 
that grow out of a Godless education, the Church schools of 
the Saints have been established. But while these accom- 
plish great good, the sphere of their usefulness does not cover 
the entire field. There are many places where Church schools 
cannot, at present, be established; and also many Saints in 
those places where such schools exist, who, for various 
reasons, cannot send their children thereto. For this cause 
we have deemed it prudent to suggest to the various local 
authorities other measures which, while not occupying the 
place ot Church schools, will work on the same lines, and aid 
in the same work in which the Church educational institu- 
tions are engaged. 

We suggest that in every ward where a Church school is 
not established, that some brother or sister, or brethren and 
sisters, well adapted for such a responsible position by their 
intelligence and devotion, as well as for their love of the 
young, be called, as on a mission, by the Bishop, after con- 
sultation with the President of the Stake, to take charge of 
a class wherein the first principles of the Gospel, Church 
History, and kindred subjects shall be taught. This class to 
meet for a short time each afternoon after the close of the 
district school, or for a longer time on the Saturday only, 
as may in each ward be deemed most consistent with the 
situation of the people and most likely to secure a good at- 
tendance of the children. In some cases it will be found 
that the children are too wearied after their usual daily 
studies to take interest in a class of this kind; in others, Sat- 
urday may prove to be an unsuitable day. 



194 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Where arrangements can be made, it will, as a general 
thing, be well to secure the district school room for this pur- 
pose, so that when they take their places in the afternoon, 
these exercises can commence immediately after the regular 
sessions and before the children scatter; but where this is 
done care must be taken to keep the two entirely separate, 
so that the law may not be infringed upon. Where the regu- 
lar school room cannot be obtained, some building conven- 
iently situated, and as near as possible, should be secured in 
its stead; the object being to secure the attendance, as far as 
possible, of the children of all the Latter-day Saints. A 
strenuous effort should likewise be made to gain the hearty 
co-operation of the parents, as without their aid the school 
will measurably fail in the object of its creation. 

We deem it desirable that every school thus established 
should be under the guidance and direction of the General 
Board of Education; and those brethren and sisters who 
accept this call will receive a license from that Board to act 
in this capacity. Suggestions with regard to studies, etc., 
will also be issued by the General Board, and other means 
be adopted to place these classes in harmony with the 
methods of the Church school system, of which, in fact, they 
will form an important part. Where it is found necessary to 
pay the teacher a small stipend for his services, the General 
Board of Education should be consulted through the Stake 
Board; but it is thought that the incidental expenses for fuel, 
etc., may, without inconvenience, be met by the ward, or by 
the people whose children are benefitted. 

With a constant desire for the progress of all true educa- 
tion, we remain, with much respect, 

Your brethren in the Gospel, 

WiLFORD Woodruff, 
George Q. Cannon, 
Joseph F. Smith, 
First Presidency of the Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 195 

With the counsel of the First Presidency before them, the 
General Superintendent and his co-laborers in the various 
boards ot education and faculties, found a problem to solve 
lor which no antecedents could give them pointers. To 
avoid mistakes that would prove disastrous to the successful 
operation of this additional feature in their work, it became 
necessary to move with extreme caution, so that every step 
taken might be in harmony with the general aim in view, 
and in due consideration of surrounding circumstances. Stake 
superintendents for these religion classes were, to this end, 
appointed in many Stakes of Zion, whose duty is to labor 
under the direction of the General Superintendent and of the 
respective Stake boards, and in co-operation with the Sunday 
school authorities. Blanks for annual statistical reports were 
issued, and instructions in regard to plans and subjects were 
published from time to time in the Juvenile Instructor, aug- 
mented by a vigorous correspondence between the General 
Superintendent and the various officers of religion classes. 
Pamphlets for the guidance of their Religion-Class instruc- 
tors, were published. These guides have been adopted and 
followed with very satisfactory results in several Stakes. 
Licenses to the various instructors have been issued accord- 
ing to instructions ©f the First Presidency. The difficulties 
that this movement has encountered in some Stakes, how- 
ever, have appeared to some authorities so nearly unsur- 
mountable as to discourage them from making the attempt 
even to establish these classes. This is the more deplorable 
as these religion-classes are intended to bring the principle 
of our educational system within the reach of every child and 
cement more firmly thereby the relationship between family 
and school among the Latter-day Saints. To bring about 
this much to be desired consumation of affairs, requires all 
the faith, deyotion, patience, and co-operation of every lover 
of the youth of our people. Where is the true Latter-day 



196 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Saint that can afford to permit his weakness of faith or indif- 
ference to tie the hands of those that are endeavoring to 
carry out the inspired counsel of the First Presidency in this 
laudable movement? 



CHAPTER IV. 



Co-ordinate Associations. 



As STATED already, since the beginning of the great latter- 
day work, the minds of the leaders of our people have been 
exercised in regard to the education of the youth. Their 
careful consideration of all the changing environments of the 
people from time to time; their wise counsels to avoid plung- 
ing into that artificial style of education which characterizes 
to such an alarming extent the training especially of the so- 
called "better classes;" their unwavering firmness in promot- 
ing harmony in the cultivation ol the hand, the head, and 
the heart, the three essential directions of all true educational 
efforts; their untiring labors so to elevate the people as to 
make them comprehend the necessity of a closer union be- 
tween school and fireside; — all these points give uncontro- 
vertible evidence of their devotion to the people's truest in- 
terests and contradict the calumnies of their enemies to the 
effect that the Mormon people are opposed to education. 

But besides sustaining loyally our excellent public school 
system, and building up in fraternal connection therewith a 
Church school system, as already explained, the General 
Authorities ot the Church have established co-ordinate insti- 
tutions, some to prepare for, some to augment, and some to 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 97 

supplement the acquirements of a common school education. 
But all of these are to be joined together by the golden thread 
of the testimony of Jesus Christ. The first one of these co- 
ordinate institutions is 

THE PRIMARY ORGANIZATION. 

The organizations of the Primary Associations, which are 
made up of kindergarten and first grade children, indicates 
the initiatory point where education emerges from exclusive- 
ly domestic care and training into school life. 

The fact was recognized long ago, that a child, on enter- 
ing the school room has already received a great amount of 
education either for good or for evil as the case may be. To 
assist and guide the former kind and to overcome the latter 
as fast as possible, has been the study of many educators, 
and was a point that did not escape the notice of the friends 
of childhood among our people. 

It was but in accordance with the nature of woman's mis- 
sion that the inspiration for the first step toward the intro- 
duction of this important feature in our educational system 
should come to a woman — Mrs. Aurelia S. Rogers — of Davis 
County, Utah. She, with Sister Eliza R. Snow, the "Miriam 
of the Latter Days, " presented the idea to President Brigham 
Young in 1876. This great natural educator perceived with 
prophetic eye the importance and bearing of this inspired 
thought, and counseled its speedy adoption. 

"Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them 
not. for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." Faithful and 
devoted sisters were found in every community of the Saints 
willing to take upon themselves the sacred mission of carry- 
ing into effect this beautiful injunction. A General Superin- 
tendency was appointed over the organization. Stake and 
ward organizations were effected with their respective offi- 
cers and instructors; plans, programs, and methods of pro- 



198 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

cedure were devised; meetings, consultations, and general as 
A¥ell as Stake conferences were held; visitors called upon 
parents in the interest of the "Primaries," to enlighten them 
in regard to the benefits which the little ones would derive 
from attending these meetings; and instructors, by adopting 
more or less the kindergarten methods of teaching, became 
more efficient and successful in their v/ork; and in conse- 
quence the association grew more and more interesting and 
attractive to the little ones. Even the public schools are 
grateful for the healthy preparatory training here received by 
prospective pupils. Thus is the time approaching concerning 
which the ancient prophecy says, that in the latter days the 
glory of God shall be proclaimed out of the mouths of in- 
fants. 

This organization extends now over all the stakes of Zion, 
has its ramifications in every Bishop's Ward, and counts its 
little pupils by tens of thousands. Hundreds of faithful and 
devoted sisters have been laboring now "without purse or 
scrip" for years, sowing seeds, that, when ripened, will be 
gathered by the angels of heaven, and the Master, at the har- 
vest time, will glorify the work, that now is being done in 
humility, faith, and love. 

SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

To do justice to the Sunday school cause in so brief a 
space as can be allotted in this work, is a problem so far be- 
yond the capacity of the author, that he almost shrinks from 
attempting it. But the necessity of presenting to the public 
truthfully all the links in the chain of the Latter-day Saints' 
educational system, encourages him to attempt an outline. 

While other educational institutions among us have their 
limitations in age, ef^ciency, or means, the Sunday schools 
are open to all without respect to any of these considerations, 
and comprise, in consequence of this immense lattitude, 
nearly one-third of our whole people, or more definitely 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 1 99 

speaking-, over 100,000 members, inckiding" officers, teachers, 
and pupils. 

This most numerously attended of all special organiza- 
tions in the Church, which at the same time is so thorough 
in its operation, so far reaching in its aims, and so potent in 
its influence, had its origin in the humble endeavor of Elder 
Richard Ballantyne, who opened a Sunday theological class 
in the Fourteenth Ward, Salt Lake City, in 1849. This 
work soon assumed proportions necessitating the assistance 
of other devoted teachers. Soon a Sunday school compris- 
ing several grades, conducted under separate instructors, 
with the originator of the movement as Superintendent, was 
in operation. The example thus set was followed in other 
localities, and Sunday schools began to multiply among the 
people. Rut this very rapid increase revealed serious defects, 
among which the diversity of ways and methods in teaching, 
arising from the lack of mutual understanding and general 
supervision, was the chief one. 

This defect, if not rectified soon, threatened to result in 
confusion, gradual slackening of efforts, and eventual dying 
out of the movement. To avoid such a calamity, the leading 
spirits in the cause and the superintendents of the various 
Sunday schools convened in the City Hall, Salt Lake City, 
August 9, 1872, and took preliminary steps toward a general 
organization. This action was soon followed by the system- 
atic organization of all schools under the name of the "Des- 
eret Sunday School Union." 

To assist the General Superintendent in his labors, a Sun- 
day School Union Board was appointed, whose duties are to 
meet weekly at the office, (now 334 Constitution Building, 
Main Street, Salt Lake City,) deliberate upon the interests 
of the S. S. Union, dispose of the constantly increasing cor- 
respondence, hear reports of the committees on ways and 
means, publications, etc., and make appointments for visit- 



200 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

ing the various Sunday schools in the Church. The rapidly 
multiplying work made the appointment of Assistant General 
Superintendents necessary. 

In addition to the General Superintendency and the S. S. 
Union Board every Stake of Zion has its Stake Superinten- 
dent with two assistants, and every Sunday school a super- 
intendent with the same number of assistants, a secretary, a 
treasurer, a librarian, and a choir leader as general officers, 
and a head teacher with several instructors for each depart- 
ment. 

A General Conference of the Sunday School Union is held 
at the great tabernacle, Salt Lake City, during each of the 
semi-annual conferences of the Church in April and October, 
at which over 5,000 Sunday school workers assemble to listen 
to instructions by the members of the General Superinten- 
dency, and other prominent laborers in the cause. 

Besides these general conferences, annual conferences are 
held in every Stake, lasting two days. These gatherings are 
generally attended by at least one member of the General 
Superintendency and one other member of the S. S. Union 
Board. Here short class exercises from different Sunday 
schools, reports of Stake superintendents and presiding au- 
thorities in the Stake, with instructions from the visiting 
brethren, and the presentation of the General as well as of 
the Stake Sunday School Authorities, constitute the program 
of proceedings. A Teachers' Meeting, held some time be- 
tween the public meetings, is one of the most important 
features on these occasions. 

The Jttvetiile Instructor, has become the official organ of 
the S. S. Union and should be found, read, and explained in 
every Sunday school. It is one of the purest, most instruc- 
tive, and interesting family papers in the land. This semi- 
monthly periodical is supplemented in its beneficial mission 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 20I 

by other publications issued by the S. S. Union Board. These 
consist in music books, hymn books, catechisms; cards with 
catechetic exercises on the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Command- 
ments, the Articles of Faith; charts, illustrating scenes from 
Bible and Book of Mormon history; Leaflets; a Guide; and a 
series of lectures on S. S. Methods of teaching. These with 
other minor items make a total of about 444,000 copies pub- 
lished and distributed thus far among our Sunday schools. 

To still further elevate the standard of efficiency and bring 
about a greater unification of system and methods, the S. S. 
Union Board established a Normal class, for Sunday school 
officers and teachers at the Brigham Young Academy, Provo, 
in 1892, under the direction of the Principal, assisted by 
several leading members of the faculty. A Model Sunday 
School, connected with the same institution gives these 
students an opportunity to witness the practical operation of 
the instruction which they receive during the week. Many 
graduates Irom this S. S. Normal course have, on returning 
home, established similar classes on the basis of the notes 
taken at the Brigham Young Academy. 

Sunday school missionaries have been appointed from time 
to time in various Stakes to assist the Stake superintendency 
and a greater uniformity of methods, with correspondingly 
more satisfactory results, have grown out of these united 
efforts. 

Having no endowments of any kind with which to meet 
the expenses, publications, travels, correspondence, and in- 
cidentals of office work, the General Superintendency and 
S. S. Union Board instituted the so-called "Nickle Day," that 
is to say, a certain Sunday every year is set apart as the day 
on which every officer, teacher, and pupil of the Sunday 
School Union is expected to donate five cents for the cause. 
If all those included in this category respond'to the call, the 
Board will find itself in a position to not only defray all cur- 



202 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

rent expenses, but even to extend still further its efforts in 
the matter of publication and other labors. 

Annual statistical reports, according to furnished blanks 
are sent by every Sunday school superintendent, to his Stake 
superintendency whose duty it is to send a summarized Stake 
report to the Secretary of the General Board, who, in his 
turn, prepares a report to the General Superintendency and 
the Union Board, to be read at the Annual Conference in 
April. 

The spirit and aims of Sunday school work are reflected in 
the endeavors of all officers and teachers to cultivate by pre- 
cept and example an acquaintance with, a love for, and an 
habitual obedience to the principles of the Gospel of life and 
salvation; to plant in the hearts of their pupils a living testi- 
mony of the divinit}^ of the Latter-day work, and a desire to 
render obedience to its doctrines and ordinances. 

To this end, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Book of 
Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, as the 
standard works of the Church, together with several other 
works on doctrine and church history, when endorsed by the 
S. S. Union Board, are used in the various departments. The 
"Guide" and the "Lectures on Sunday School Work," are 
mainly for reference and use in teachers' meetings. The 
"Leaflets" treat catechetically doctrines of the Church, 
stories, and passages from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and 
Church history. 

As these leaflets exhibit the best known method thus far 
of handling any subject in Sunday school work, it may not 
be amiss to state here their main features. After naming 
the subject of the lesson with its proper references, the full 
text is given. A "lesson statement" in plain and concise 
language follows, accompanied by "notes," explanatory ot 
prominent points in the text. Then are added points re- 
garding what can be learned from the lesson. The whole 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 203 

concludes with questions on the lesson. Some of our instruc- 
tors, by merely following scrupulously the contents of these 
leaflets, line after line, have been disappointed in the results, 
become discouraged, and discarded them altogether. 

The greatest amount of benefit from the use of these leat- 
lets is by using the notes, points, and questions, with any 
necessary additions whenever and wherever they fit in dur- 
ing the reading of the text. The lesson statement should 
<"lose up the exercise. There is no need for finishing one 
leaflet every Sunday. 

The pictorial charts, representing scenes from the Bible 
and Book of Mormon, are treated according to the method 
ot object lesson teaching, and their usefulness is in exact 
proportion to the efificiency of the teacher in handling them. 

It is characteristic of by far the greater number of our 
Sunday school teachers that they go at their work with a 
prayerful heart and a thorough preparation of the subject- 
matter before them. 

The higher department, or so-called Theological Class, is 
composed of such members as are supposed to be already 
somewhat better acquainted with the principles of the Gospel, 
and are expected, therefore, to be ready for filling any tem- 
porary yacancy in the corps of teachers at short notice. 

A beautiful feature has lately been introduced into many 
Sunday schools. This is the organization of a "Kindergar- 
ten Sunday School," for little ones under six years of age. 
The success of this movement is inducing other superinten- 
dents to follow the example, and soon the new feature will 
spread throughout the whole Sunday School Union. 

To render a just account of the individual labors of even 
the most prominent Sunday school workers would far surpass 
my ability of judging as to where to draw the line. None 
are working for fame or notoriety as they rest assured of a 
better reward in the final recognition of their labors by the 



204 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Great Master. There is one, however, next to our beloved 
General Superintendent, who is deserving special mention, a 
man whose untiring labors in the Sunday school cause began 
with the beginning and have never since flagged, a man who, 
by his very originality and genuineness, has endeared him- 
self to every man, woman, and child connected with our 
Sunday schools, a man whose venerable head is now en- 
circled by the glories of life's setting sun — I refer to Elder 
George Goddard, First Assistant General Superintendent of 
the Deseret Sunday School Union. 

MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS. 

An educational system confined to the school room, leav-,^ 
ing out the fireside, and directing its forces only to a certain 
age or grade of pupils, must of necessity be too fragmentary 
to shape successfully the destiny of a whole people. 

Lycurgus, nearly 900 years before the Christain Era, recog- 
nized this fact, and began his system of training by causing 
the new-born infant to be examined as t© its physical fitness 
for future citizenship in the warlike state. Thence forward, 
throughout all the stages of infancy, maturity, and adoles- 
cence, the Spartan, male and female, was the recipient of an 
education that enabled Sparta, notwithstanding its geographi- 
cal insignificance, to maintain its military renown for cen- 
turies. The means were wisely adapted to the end, no 
matter what our opinions concerning that end itself ma)'" be. 

When our people under the leadership of Brigham Young, 
in 1847, arrived in these, then desolate, regions, they real- 
ized that their existence and future prosperity depended, 
next to the interposition of Providence, upon their own 
efforts. There was method in all their doings. Wiseacres 
among and around them shouted impetuously for changes in 
the course of the ship of Zion, but their leader stood firm 
and calm at the helm, and directed the ship through storms. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 205 

breakers, and sandbanks into the channels of conservative 
industry, integrity, and steady improvement, having as pole- 
star for his guidance the ultimate destiny of the Latter-day 
work. 

Among the many features of the administrative policy of 
this great statesman and leader, the educational interest 
ever formed one of his chiefest concerns. In this question 
he manifested his wisdom by arousing, on the one hand, the 
people from a lethargic indifference to education into which 
the hard struggle for the necessities of life threatened to 
plunge them, and to withstand, on the other, the impetuous 
clamorings of a few for the adoption of untimely measures — 
measures for which neither the wants nor the means of the 
people offered a justification. 

In addition to the establishment of common schools, a 
University, two Church academies, Sunday schools, and 
Primaries, there was added under his direction, in 1875, the 
great movement known as Mutual Improvement Associa- 
tions, one branch for young men, and another for young 
ladies. 

These twin associations intended to reach, by and by, all 
the young people, have proved to be harbors of refuge for 
many that were in danger of being overtaken by the allure- 
ments of frivolity and vice; nurseries of knowledge, virtue, 
and a living testimony of the divinity of the Latter- da}'' 
work; training schools for servants of God in the missionary 
field and in home ministry of the Priesthood; and institutions 
preparatory for the virtues and requirements of public and 
private life. 

For Yo7i7tg Men, 

This organization is defined best in the words of its lead- 
ing authorities as follows: "The Y. M. M. I. A." means as a 
whole, a universal, self-helpful system of instruction, im- 
provement, education, carried right to every home in the 



2o6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

land. It means self-culture by divinely directed self-effort. 
It means education of the entire people, and includes the 
elevation and heightening of all profitable and legitimate re- 
creations. 

The organization comprises now more than 10,000 mem- 
bers, and is divided into Stake and Ward organizations, pre- 
sided over by a general superintendency, and several assist- 
ants, a secretary, a treasurer, and a music director. Each 
Stake organization consists of a superintendent, two coun- 
selors, a secretary, a treasurer, and a music director with aids. 
The Ward organizations are presided over by superinten- 
dents with two counselors to each, secretaries, treasurers, 
librarians, choristers, and special class instructors. They 
are classified into two grades, (cr) boys, from 14 to 18 years, 
(/;) young men, from 18 to 45 years. 

These associations are expected to be in operation during 
at least eight months in the year. The exercises are of a 
theological, historical, scientific, and literary nature. Com- 
plete courses of studies in the above named fields are arranged 
on the basis of self-effort, directed by chosen text, and refer- 
ence books. The lectures, class-work, recitations, and exer- 
cises in vocal and instrumental music; are outlined in a man- 
ual of synoptical lessons. Practice in public speaking and in 
conducting meetings form a prominent feature. So also the 
control of public amusements constitutes one of the aims of 
the Mutual Improvement Association. 

Manuals, published under the auspices of the General 
Superintendency; the Contributor, a monthly magazine, con- 
taining sometimes contributions of almost classical merit, as 
the official organ of the Y. M. M. I. A.; visits to single or- 
ganizations by members of the General Superintendency and 
by regularly appointed missionaries; an extensive correspon- 
dence; and statistical reports from all Stake organizations to 
the Annual Conference at Salt Lake City, held on, or as near 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE 207 

as possible to, the first of June of every year, on the anniver- 
sary of the birth of the organization — these form the working 
elements of this grand movement. 

For Younj^ Ladies. 

In connection with the Y. M. M. I. A., already treated 
upon, the organization of a Young Ladies Mutual Improve- 
ment Association was a most fitting and essential comple- 
ment to the educational system of the Latter-day Saints. 

In too many instances, even among the most enlightened 
nations of the earth, the education of women has been sub- 
jected to limitations, prejudices, and obstructions, based upon 
traditions of the past. The idea, that a young woman should 
have equal chances with her brother in obtaining an educa- 
tion adequate to her individuality, inclinations, and capacities, 
so as to enable her, if necessary, to take an independent 
stand, "to paddle her own canoe," so to speak, and even 
enter into competition with the more favored being, man, 
has been considered so preposterous, as to cause leading in- 
stitutions of learning to open their doors very reluctantly to 
lady students and then only with many provisions of limita- 
tion, and some institutions are still, to all intents and purpo- 
ses, hermetically closed to women. 

The advocates of "woman's rights," like most reformers 
and agitators, may be carried, occasionally, by their enthu- 
siasm into Utopian fancies, but the principles underlying the 
whole movement are incontrovertible and will gain, sooner 
or later, general recognition in all the realms of civilized 
society. 

This tact was recognized already by our people in the days 
of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who stated on a certain occa- 
sion in Nauvoo, that the "key was now turned which opened 
the door to the higher development of women." 

When, after the expulsion from Nauvoo, the wanderings 



2 08 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

across the plains, and the struggles of pioneer-life in these 
valleys ot the mountains, the Saints began to enjoy the 
privilege of permanent homes, and settled conditions were 
shaping the course of events, the question of the rights of 
women was revived. 

As far back as the winter of 1869, a meeting of ladies in 
the Lion House was held with the purpose of organizing a 
society for the promotion of habits of order, thrift, industry, 
charity, and modesty in apparel, speech, deportment, and 
mode of living. 

Thus the beginning of active operation in this direction 
was made. But not until the year 1877 was a definite or- 
ganization effected. The Young Ladies ]Vlutual Improve 
ment Association had its beginning in the same year. Organ- 
izations tor the various Stakes of Zion with their regular 
corps of officers, corresponding to those officiating in the Y. 
M. M. L A., followed in rapid succession, and soon local 
organizations in the various Bishops' Wards completed the 
system. 

To the credit of the young ladies be it said, that they 
entered into the spirit of the movement with greater alacrity, 
and attended their meetings more numerously and regularly 
than did the young men in the Y. M. M, L A. This circum- 
stance is easily explained, however, by the fact that the 
former have not so many influences and intervening obstacles 
to contend with as have the latter. 

A most pleasing and healthful feature in these young 
ladies' meetings is the participation of ladies of maturer age 
and experience, by which the young daughters in Lsrael are 
encouraged in their preparation for the domestic, spiritual, 
intellectual, and practical requirements of true womanhood. 

That the appreciation of the struggle of noble women for 
a greater extension of their rights and spheres of usefulness 
among the Mormon people, is not a mere yielding to the 



SCHOOL Ann FIRESIDE. 209 

spirit of the times, or the endeavor to give it practical ex- 
pression, — not a mere political speculation, as intimated by- 
some, but, on the contrary, that it is the result of religious 
conditions, is best demonstrated by quoting a verse from 
Eliza R. Snow's inspired hymn on "Primeval Childhood." 
That verse reads as follows: 

"I had learned to call Thee Father, 
Through Thy Spirit from on High; 
But until the Key of Knowledge 
Was restored, I knew not why. 
In the heaven are parents single.'' 
No; the thought makes reason stare! 
Truth is reason; truth eternal 
Tells me, I've a mother there." 

The Y. L. M. I. A. consists now of a membership of nearly 
13,500, extending its operations and influence throughout 
Utah, into Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, England, Arizona, 
Colorado, New Mexico, old Mexico, the Sandwich Islands, 
and New Zealand. Members of the General Superintendency 
and General Board are traveling annually thousands of miles 
in visiting the various branches of the association; and semi- 
annual conferences of the leading authorities are held for the 
purpose of receiving reports and discussing the affairs of the 
association and devising plans for improvement. 

"■The Guide,'" a pamphlet published by the General Super- 
intendency, performs a similar mission among the young 
ladies, to what the "Manual," already spoken of, does among 
the young men. ''The Young IVoniaiis Jojirnal,"" is the 
the official organ of the association. This paper contains 
occasionally valuable contributions from abroad; stories of 
an elevating character, far superior to the generality of novels 
in our day; editorials bearing upon the physical, intellectual, 
moral, and spiritual interests of women; and poetry of con- 
siderable merit sometimes appears in its pages. 



2IO SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

As in the case of the organization of young men, the Y. L. 
M. I. A. is self-supporting, meeting all its expenses by volun- 
tary contributions from its members, by proceeds from public 
concerts, and from entertainments gotten up under the aus- 
pices of the association. 

A very important move was made when the Y. L. M. I. A. 
joined the ''National Council of Women in the United States T 
This union does not interfere, however, in any way with the 
management and spirit of the home association, but affords 
an opportunity to its members to become acquainted with 
the work of women in other parts of the United States, while, 
on the other hand, the latter are informed of the work done 
by their sisters in Utah. 

Conjoint Meetings. 

Notwithstanding the beneficent results realized by the ex- 
ercises in each of these two associations, the respective 
authorities found that an occasional union of both would be 
conducive of still greater good, in as much as thereby a har- 
mony of methods, a stimulation to renewed efforts, and in 
some measure at least, a controlling influence over the asso- 
ciation among the young people could be exercised. For 
these purposes, the feature of conjoint meetings was intro- 
duced with very satisfactory results. They were held in some 
places monthly, in some at longer intervals. 

It has been observed, that on these occasions those ap- 
pointed to take part in the program put forth their best efforts. 
These meetings are generally looked forward to, even by the 
older portion of the community, with joyful anticipation. It 
could not fail to give parents pleasure thus to see their sons 
and daughters stand forth in praiseworthy competition for the 
approval of the audience. 

Essays, recitations, vocal and instrumental music, the 
making of reports, the offering of prayer, the hearing of testi- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 211 

monies and delivery of speeches, lectures, as also the acquir- 
ing of ability to conduct meetings and keep minutes — these 
varieties of activity constitute the main features of conjoint 
meetings. 

The arrangement and execution of the work is entirely in 
the hands of the young people, the purpose being to give 
them opportunities for the cultivation ot self-effort and of 
capacity in managing public affairs in the spirit of emulation, 
integrity, generosity, and intelligence. In connection with 
these aims, it is recommended that the Mutual Improvement 
Associations should mutually agree to control as much as 
possible the public parties for the young people. 

Young ladies, especially in smaller communities, have it 
absolutely in their power, if they only understood how to 
use that power properly, to dictate to the young men the 
terms upon which the latter could have the privilege of re- 
cognition by them. If, tor instance, they had all agreed to 
''boycott" any young man known to be a bad son, ill-treat- 
ing his parents, of shiftless habits, given to strong drink and 
the use of tobacco, to breaking the Sabbath day. or one guilty 
of other ungentlemanly and immoral practices, — there would 
be left to such a fellow only the choice of reforming or leav- 
ing the country. 




TESHNISS, 



If in the treatment of the preceding subjects the influence 
ofthe teacher had to be either directly pointed out or indi- 
rectly seen by inference, in the following series of chapters 
under the general head of Technics, another class of workers 
in the educational field will have their labors and responsi- 
bilities more prominently considered. There are the various 
officials operating in the capacity of school boards, boards of 
trustees, boards of education, and superintendents. 

In times past, the success in anything not connected in 
some way with church or state, depended mostly upon indi- 
vidual effort, judgment, pluck, popularity, or good fortune. 
Society, however, with the assistance of state-craft, legis- 
lative enactments, mutual agreement, or the pressure of 
public opinion, has been gradually widening the field, regu- 
lating and systematizing what was lett before to individual 
enterprise. This tendency finds intensified expression in the 
agitation of the Socialists of our day. As its ultimate con 
sequences, Socialism, would absorb all the chances for indi- 
vidual self-activity, and combine them into one huge crystal- 
ization of society; a tyranny in comparison with which the 
reign of a Nero or of a Genghis Khan would be a paradise. 
Socialism, and its twin brother, Infidelity, are engaged in a 
work of destruction. Destruction of faith in the certainty 
of heaven leads to destruction of faith in the divinity of 
man. 

There is a beautiful medium, a line across which the beam 
of the scale may oscillate seeking to find equilibrium. But 
equilibrium in its absolute sense will never be reached in this 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 213 

stage of existence. The social questions agitating the nations 
in our ilny will find their final solution in the Order of Enoch 
to be established when the Prince of Peace shall come to 
reign on earth a thousand years, and';Satan be bound that he 
may no more sow the seeds of discord into the hearts of the 
children of men. 

The cause of education has been, is, and will be for some 
time to come, subject to all these influences. It is the duty 
of the guardians of the school to throw around it such moral 
and legal protection, to render it such substantial and intelli- 
gent support, and to provide it with such available facilities, 
as will enable it to perform its mission among the people, 
namely, the moulding of the minds of the rising genera- 
tion for the comprehension and execution of life's responsibil- 
ities. 

The work of school authorities is of a nature, requiring a 
degree of integrity, intelligence, and devotion, that is as yet 
little appreciated by the generality of the people. This is 
manifest by the indifiference with which the claims of parti- 
sanship are acceded to, or with which persons, ill-qualified 
by character, intelligence, and disposition are chosen to these 
important ofifices. Some wide awake communities in Utah 
have emancipated themselves from this slothful spirit, strik- 
ing out along new lines, and chosing men for these of^ces 
that will labor with well advised and wisely directed zeal for 
the greatest good to the greatest number. 

But even the best organized boards of education are as 
yet, in the most instances, defective in one particular, which 
ought to be rectified in future at every election; that is, the 
absence ot lady members. One half ot the school population 
belongs to the female sex, and therefore women are entitled 
to representation in eyery board of education. The prevail- 
ing defect in this regard finds its explanation only in the 
prejudices of the past. 



214 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

President Brigham Young, with the foresight characteristic 
of him. selected a lady as one of the members constituting 
the first Board of Trustees of the Brigham Young Academy, 
at Provo, in 1875. This arrangement has not only been kept 
up ever since, but has been followed by most of our 
Church boards of education. It is to be hoped soon that no 
one will be found who would not grant so just a recognition 
of the female sex. The generous support, wise counsel, and 
gentle influence of women are factors that our schools stand 
much in need of today. 

The first item of consideration for all boards of education 
is the question of Finances. 



CHAPTER I. 



Finances. 



The seurces from which the funds at the disposal of an 
educational board may spring, are various. They may be 
derived from taxation, tuition, endowments, voluntary con- 
tributions, proceeds from sale or rent of properties, from in- 
dividuals, from entertainments, concerts, lectures, etc. 

Upon the proper handling of these funds, as regards re- 
ceiving and disbursing, depend not only the successful main- 
tenance of the respective institutions, but also public confi- 
dence in them. 

All business matters must be conducted on business prin- 
ciples which recognize no other authority than a strict account- 
ing. Not only should complete statements of such accounts, 
endorsed by properly qualified auditing committees, be ren- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 2 I 5 

dered, at specified times, but they should also be open to 
the inspection of any one whom they may concern. The 
neglect of this important point has been, in many instances, 
the cause of retarding the progress of education among the 
people. 

It must be acknowledged, that in far too many instances, 
the funds for school purposes have scarcely been commen- 
surate with the requirements of the occasion, and a degree of 
economy had to be practiced that seemed to verge on parsi- 
mony. 

There is a species of economy that is reprehensible, having 
not a single extenuating feature about it, and that is the 
"Cheap John" principle followed by some school authorities. 
They make a teacher's engagement depend upon the lowest 
bid, or provide a school with furniture and utensils upon the 
"makeshift" plan. The evil of such a course does not consist 
merely in the fact that the pupils in such a school can not 
make as good progress as more favored ones do, but that 
they are too often injured beyond reparation, physically, 
morally, and intellectually. 

On the other hand, school authorities are often suddenly 
seized with a spasm ot grandiose enterprise. They devise 
the plan of a magnificent school building with towers, halls, 
stair cases, porticoes, stone fronts, etc., lavishly expending 
the funds on hand and borrowing from the future. A major- 
ity of the taxpayers are worked up to the point by the plea 
that the building will be an ornament to the city, attract 
well-to-do people to settle in the place, and by other reasons 
just as irrelevant to real educational interests. 

After the costly edifice is erected and furnished, it is found 
that the treasury is bankrupt, and the authorities are obliged 
to cut off a term or two from the regular school year. The 
consequence is that first class teachers go elsewhere, and 
second rate teachers, or such as happen to make it convenient 



2i6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

to accept positions on half-time, have to be taken instead. 
Sometimes it is even found, that the fine building is too 
small to accommodate all the children of school age, and 
great numbers have to stay at home. The necessary accom- 
modations had been sacrificed to a fine show. 

FREE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

Much controversy has been indulged in over the question 
of free schools. Without recapitulating all the threadbare 
arguments that have been brought forward against the sys- 
tem, or attempting to refute them anew, I shall content my- 
self with alluding to the chief argument opposed to the idea, 
in order to show its tutility. It is said, that it would be un- 
fair to compel any man to pay for the education of some- 
body else's children. 

If a necessary degree of education for every child were to 
be classified with other necessities of life, as for instance, 
food, clothing, shelter, etc., the want for it, would become a 
subject of charity, as in the case ot the wants mentioned. 
But education in any of its stages should never be degraded 
to the condition of being indebted to charity, as such a con- 
dition would defeat, on the start, one of the chief aims of true 
education — development of self-reliance and independence. 
Every free and honest character returns an equivalent, and, 
if possible, more than an equivalent for everything he re- 
ceives. 

Yet there are too many people in this world who are finan- 
cially unable to educate their children, or perhaps are too 
ignorant, careless, or opposed to obtaining an education, to 
make it safe for society to trust to individual effort. 

The old saying, that a stream can not rise above its foun- 
tain, finds its most fitting application in a country like ours. 
Here the masses of the people constitute, so to speak, a great 
reservoir from which all the channels of public life diverge. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 217 

If that great central mass is morally and intellectually at a 
low level, what altitudes of intelligence, virtue, patriotism, 
prosperity, and higher aspirations can be reached and vivi- 
fied by its outlets? 

Individual efforts for the amelioration of the masses like 
the mission of John the Baptist, "serve to prepare the way," 
but the pathways of such lovers of their race are often strewn 
with the thorns of martyrdom. Such noble efforts can become 
effectual only through their general recognition and adoption 
by the people. 

Society and state have three great enemies to struggle 
with, viz: ignorance, poverty, and vice. These are the causes 
of all the miseries that effect the body politic. To reduce 
them as far as possible, to a minimum, and to fence them in 
so as to prevent them from spreading and exercising their 
pernicious influences to the detriment of the general weal, 
must be always the aims of the philantrophist, philosopher, 
and statesman. The most powerful agent at their disposal is 
education in its complete and truest sense. 

There is a general education continually going on by 
means of the daily press, literature, associations, lectures, 
etc., but when the foundation of a sound education in early 
youth is lacking, the superstructure can never be more than 
patchwork, an education without system, coherence, consis- 
tency, or reliability; for the agencies just mentioned are 
themselves fluctuating and unreliable, being the products 
rather than the cause of any given state of society. 

Society, therefore, has to dig more deeply for the bedrock 
upon which to build its edifice of prosperity and progress. 
Next to the fireside, this bedrock is the public school system. 
All classes of society are concerned alike with the conditions 
of the fireside and the school, for these factors are insepar- 
able in their sympathies. Neither can suffer or prosper with- 
out a corresponding reflex upon the other. 



2i8 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

This is the reason why the question of free schools con- 
cerns not only those classes which, speaking from a mere 
financial point of view, would be directly benefitted, but also 
those whose support would seem to be a sacrifice. 

The financial point of view is, however, an exceedingly 
superficial one from which to decide the justice or merits of 
the system. The benefits accruing from the general diffusion 
of knowledge, sound principles, and good habits, among the 
people are so all-pervading that even the most favored fam- 
ilies in the land become the recipients of them. This is true 
to such a degree as to make an increase in the school taxes 
an insignificant item in comparison with the general advan- 
tages derived from the free school system. 

Granted, for the sake of argument, that all are agreed in 
regard to the advantage of the free school system, there is 
yet a point of considerable discussion even among some of its 
most fervent advocates, and that is as to whether compulsory 
attendance should be part of the school law. 

I am unequivocally for compulsory attendance. 

The objection is raised than compulsory attendance inter- 
feres with personal free agency of children, and infringes 
upon the rights, and lessens the authority of parents. 

All this can be answered at once by the uncontrovertible 
argument, that the free school system without compulsory 
attendance would place all the responsibility and burden upon 
one side and the enjoyment and benefits on the other, with- 
out equitable distribution of both. The state or community 
on the one side would be duty-bound to support and keep 
open the school for a stipulated time, but, on the other, every 
one would have the right to avail himself of its benefits, when 
or how long it might suit his purpose or inclination, or not 
at all. This would result mainly in the attendance of only 
such as would have gone to school anyhow, free school or no 
free school, but a great portion of those whom it was especi- 




,0i 



SCHOOL A ND FIRESIDE. 2 1 9 

ally desired to reach, would either stay away entirely or drop 
off on the least pretext. 

Wherever this kind of free schools has been tried it has 
proved a failure, so that either the free school system had to 
be abandoned, or compulsory education adopted as part of 
the system. 

Every fireside has its rights, foremost among which is the 
sanctity of the family alter. Thousands of people would 
defend this right with their life's blood. Nor would they 
tolerate the least infringement upon it. 

With the adoption of the free school system, and its indis- 
pensable concomitant, compulsory attendance, there arises, 
however, the danger that many families, sincerely devoted 
to their particular religious belief, may not find sufficient 
assurance against sectarian and infidel influence being 
brought to bear upon their children, contrary to faith inculca- 
ted at the fireside. 

Knowing the influence which every experienced teacher 
can exercise over his pupils, even in the most technical 
studies, I admit that this apprehension is not entirely ground- 
less. Many teachers have been known not to make any 
secrets of their particular proclivities and to sow, insiduously, 
seeds that have produced a harvest of evil tendencies in 
many lives. 

School authorities must therefore be conscientious and 
wide-awake guardians of this public trust; they must be open 
always to any complaint in this respect, and take steps to 
remedy the evil in such a way as the gravity ot the occasion 
may require. 

SYSTEM OF FULL OR PARTIAL TUITION. 

If spoken of in connection with public schools, this system 
must be considered a remnant of the primitive educational 



220 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

conditions prevailing before the free public schools became 
a recognized factor in the affairs and interests of a nation. 

Private and denominational scliools, if not in possession of 
large endowments, or enjoying the support of private dona- 
tions, are necessarily dependent upon tuition for support. 
Tuition in such cases assumes the nature of a contract be- 
tween the school authorities and the pupils or their legal 
guardians. This may be regulated by grade, length of at- 
tendance, number and kind of studies, and other specifica- 
tions. 

Many high schools, academies, colleges, and universities, 
operate under such favorable conditions that they are enabled 
to charge a merely nominal entrance fee, or perhaps some 
small amount annually for library purposes. Some have even 
established stipends for deserving students. 

Full or even partial tuition is open to many serious objec- 
tions. It is unwise in that it prevents many children from 
attending school altogether, or a great part of the time, as 
their parents are either unwilling or unable to pay the tuition. 
When the further fact is taken into consideration that many 
ignorant people show more concern for the good condition of 
their cattle, horses, and pigs, than for the cultivation of their 
children, it is not to be wondered at that the payment of 
tuition is often looked upon as something to be put off as long 
as possible, or to be avoided in some way or other. 

It is unjust. When added to this lack of appreciation, 
which the teacher must always face, the collection of the 
tuition is also left to him, as it used to be in the early days 
of Utah, the humiliations to which teachers were sometimes 
subject, were not only injurious to their pockets and feel- 
ings, but are degrading to the cause of education itself. 

No unendowed school, professing to be up to the require- 
ments of the times, can be self-sustaining by tuition alone, 
unless its charges are placed so high as to exclude all poor 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE 221 

children trom entering. The sooner, therefore, the last 
vestige of this mode of carrying on public schools disappears 
from the land, the sooner will the people enter into the 
full enjoyment of the blessings of a thorough general educa- 
tion. 

ENDOWMENTS. 

Whether originating in vanity, ambition, qualms of con- 
science, or in motives of real philanthropy, endowments to 
institutions of learning are unqualified, lasting, and ever re- 
producing benefits to humanity. Without them very much 
of the prestige which the present era of civilization enjoys 
over all others, could not have been reached. This state- 
ment has not only reference to the large endowments, 
amounting to millions, of a Girard, a Johns Hopkins, a Stan- 
ford, a Rockfeller, and others, by which whole universities, 
colleges, etc., were established, but also to endowments for 
single chairs, scholarships, libraries, laboratories, cabinets, 
buildings, grounds, or to small sums of money, all of which 
contribute their share to the great work of human progress. 

The blessings accruing for such endowments come not only 
from their material value, but also from the inspiring and 
ennobling influence which they exercise. They demonstrate 
the fact that the materialistic tendencies of the age have not 
yet succeeded in obliterating entirely the appreciation of the 
higher aims of humanity. They furnish to growing intelli- 
gences ever-present object-lessons, inspiring a gratitude 
which seeks expression in a career that shall repay humanity 
the benefits received through such endowments in the days 
of youth. 

The author is acquainted with an incident in the lite of a 
rich man, to whom was suggested the idea ot endowing a 
certain educational institution that he might perpetuate his 
name with honor among the people. He did not, however, 



222 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

possess that magnanimity of soul which would have enabled 
him to make what would have been to him a comparatively 
small sacrifice, and so died without following the suggestion. 

It is quite a common custom in Germany and adjacent 
countries, for citizens to arrange for so-called "Freitische, " 
or free meals for poor students, to be taken either at a com- 
mon boarding house, or with the family. This custom, not- 
withstanding some objectional features, has been the means 
of materially assisting many v^^orthy young people in finish- 
ing their studies. 

Although American students would, perhaps, consider an 
offer of this kind too humilating for acceptance without ren- 
dering some equivalent in the shape of service, intelligent 
and benevolent citizens could find many ways by which 
similar assistance could be given to deserving students with- 
out doing violence to the praiseworthy feelings of self-respect 
of the latter. 

Another, perhaps smaller, but no less acceptable and valu- 
able contribution to the cause of education, consists in the 
presentation to schools, of books, rare specimens to cabinets 
and museums, apparatus, charts, models for physiological and 
scientific demonstrations. All these are testimonials of the 
interest which private citizens take in the cause of educa- 
tion, and are within the reach of almost every man and 
woman. 

It is the custom in some countries of the old world to have 
coats of arms, ships, tablets, and memorials of various kinds, 
hung up in churches, to perpetuate the names of certain in- 
dividuals or families of the parish. This venerable custom, 
though very limited as to its usefulness, could be greatly im- 
proved upon in our country by families making useful dona- 
tions to public schools, thus perpetuating their names for 
future generations, and letting these presentations be signs 
of a covenant in behalf of themselves and their decendants, 




1 = 



litl^.tMMM;lii'otJ:i^^.MlM:i;£mj!iim: 



.,* ..'. V --Avxjiv,* ' '^''v'-*-'''^'^'-'"'^^^^ I 







SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 223 

to be true forever to the cause of human progress. Thus one 
inore bond in the great union between school and fireside 
could be formed. 



CHAPTER II. 



School Buildings. 



A SCHOOL building, in the proper sense of the word, can 
be a school building and never anything else. Just so far as 
this point is lost sight of, and the design takes other purposes 
into consideration, to that extent the fitness of the building 
for its real purpose is lessened and a corresponding incon- 
venience created. If the violation of the principle just stated 
caused only inconvenience, the case would not be so bad. 
Inconvenience may be measureably circumvented by judic- 
ious arrangement in school plan and program. Rut, all other 
things being equal, it would be impossible to meet the re- 
quirements of modern education in such a building to the 
same extent as could schools more favorably domiciled. 

There are several leading points which school authorities 
ought to take into consideration before deciding definitely 
upon the erection of a new school building. The first one of 
these is 

LOCATION. 

In too many instances the only consideration in regard to 
the location of a school building is the price. Wherever, 
within the district, grounds can be obtained at the lowest 
rate, there the school building will be erected. However 



224 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

legitimate and proper financial considerations may be, they 
constitute only one of the factors to be taken into account. 

It also happens occasionally, that the location of the build- 
ing is decided upon in compliance with the special interests 
or convenience of influential citizens. 

Another very reprehensible policy is the erection of a 
number of small buildings scattered throughout the town, in 
order to bring the school as near to every man's door as 
possible, instead of having one or two large school buildings 
wherein the various grades can be under the supervision and 
direction of experienced principals. 

Some communities are visited by epidemics among children 
oftener and more severely than others. In such cases the 
causes have often been traced to the location of the school 
house either near a swamp or cesspool, exhaling malarious 
efifusia, or by a spring or well impregnated with unclean sub- 
stances. 

There are also school houses located at such inconvenient 
places that children can reach them, especially in winter, 
only after long exposure to storms and colds. Their feet 
cold, shoes, stockings, and clothes soaked, and the school 
house exposed to fierce winds howling around it, many child- 
ren, especially girls, contract diseases, that too often produce 
decadence and premature death. 

School authorities should be careful that buildings be as far 
removed as possible from dangerous places, as for instance, 
railroad crossings, depots, precipices, stone quarries, or other 
places where accidents are liable to occur at any moment. A 
terrible landslide in one of the cantons of Switzerland, which 
came very near burying a school house with several hundred 
children, taught the authorities the necessity of removing 
their school to a place of greater safety. 

An indispensable requisite for a successful school is quiet- 
ness. The location of the school, therefore, ought to be in 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 225 

a quiet neighborhood, where the turmoil of public thorough- 
tares, the clanking of forge hammers, the sound of running 
machinery, and the shrieking and thundering of passing 
trains, may not distract the attention and disturb the exer- 
cises of the pupils. 

SIZE AND ARCHITECTURE. 

It has been the cause of much gratitude to our Heavenly 
Father to notice the multitude of children that enliven even 
the smallest settlements of our people. In consequence of 
this characteristic, the question of suitable accommodation 
for our ever-increasing school-population is assuming an 
importance that outweighs all other considerations of public 
weal. 

There are "school houses and school houses;" any variety 
of them, from the log school house with a large wood stove 
and a collection of different joints for a pipe suspended by 
wires from the ceiling, a rotten floor and patched windows, 
to fine buildings with porticoes, towers, and stone fronts. 
But, it appears, that the size of all of them has been calcula- 
ted according to the number of children of .school age, at the 
inception of the movement for their erection, without taking 
into consideration the rapidly increasing number of school 
children in every community. In consequence of this over- 
sight, most of our school houses are not only over-crowded 
at certain seasons of the year, but prove actually inadequate 
to the school population, and great numbers entitled to the 
rights of the school room, have to be turned away. 

Allowing space for about one-fifth more than the number 
of the school population at the time of starting a building, 
will usually meet the requirements of a community for some 
time to come. The general rule for floor space is four feet 
square for every pupil in each class-room. Class-rooms at 
that rate should be constructed to hold from sixty to seventy 



226 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

pupils at the utmost. This would provide sufficient space for 
teachers' desk, recitation benches, and aisles. Department 
rooms for each grade are indispensable, to which may be 
added an office for the principal, a teachers' consultation 
room, a library, and cabinet, according" to circumstances. 

The height of school rooms should be about fourteen feet. 
If lower it would not furnish sufficient cubic space for fresh 
air in crowded rooms, especially when the windows may have 
to be kept closed on account of cold or stormy weather. If 
higher, the acoustics of the room become correspondingly 
difficult for speaking and hearing. 

All apartments of the building, including passages, and 
stairs, should allow an easy and quick exit without interfer- 
ence of one pupil with another. 

The architecture of a school building has been the cause of 
much controversy and contention in many communities. 
There are somie leading principles governing the erection of 
school buildings, especially in relerence to the common 
schools, principles which authorities would do well to instruct 
their architects to observe in making designs. These prin- 
ciples are, durability, appropriateness, simplicity, and good 
taste. 

As long, however, as motives of speculation, vanity, and 
ambition, are suffered to intrude themselves in the conception 
of a building that in itself should constitute an object lesson 
to the rising generation, any attempt at realization of these 
principles might as well be considered the dream of an 
idealist. 

Assuming, for argument's sake, that plenty of means are 
at the command of a board of education, such happy circum- 
stance should not justify them in violating any of these stand- 
ard rules of school architecture. 

There ought to be no feature or part of the building with- 
out a specific purpose of utility, no ornament without signifi- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 227 

cance. Indeed, there should be no pretentious display of 
useless ornamentation at the sacrifice of substance and 
solidity. 

Geometrical symetry is no more the only requisite of taste- 
ful architecture than a strict compliance with the laws of 
counterbase alone is good music. Every ornament should 
symbolize some principle connected with the purpose of the 
edifice. 

I remember a painted cornice in a certain school house re- 
presenting dragons in fanciful arrangement along the ceiling. 
A more discordant and unappropriate design of ornamenta- 
tion for such a place is scarcely to be imagined. 

Inseparable from the main buildings are the surroundings. 
They should consist in playgrounds and separate back yards 
for the two sexes. 

Every observing person knows that premises, kept clean 
and respectable under proper supervision, are treated with a 
certain degree of reverence by the most reckless urchins, 
while, on the other hand, untidy and neglected surroundings 
are looked upon by those mischievously inclined as legitimate 
objects to play their pranks upon. 

Playgrounds covered with clean and dry gravel or sand, 
having benches under shady trees, here and there a few shrubs 
and flowerbeds, and the whole enclosed by a substantial railing, 
are incalculable incentives for good manners and decent be- 
havior, and as such assist materially in the maintenance and 
discipline in school. 

But as to the backyards. How often has the author been 
considered a crank on his educational tours of inspection in 
days gone by, when, on his arrival at a school house, he in- 
variably went first to inspect the backyards and outhouses. 
Finding them, in some instances, either wanting altogether, 
or of an unspeakable description, his heart sickened at the 
contemplation of the physical and moral conditions that must 



2 28 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

inevitably ensue annong the school children from such crim- 
inal neglect. 

Not only does the suppression of bodily necessities, en- 
forced upon sensitive children by the absence of suitable ac- 
commodations, too often become the cause of serious and 
lasting disorders, especially among young girls, but the in- 
fluence of untidy, obscene, or not sufficiently separated out- 
houses casts its blighting and debasing shadow over the im- 
mortal souls of susceptible youth. 

LIGHT. 

"Let there be light!" was the blessing with which the 
Creator consecrated this world as a habitation for His sons 
and daughters during their sojourn in this state of mortality, 
and "Let there be light!" should be the maxim in every 
school and fireside. 

What is the cause of so many children, even of tender age, 
going around with spectacles.-^ Young people of both sexes 
are seen Vv^ith these appendages in ever-increasing numbers 
not only in our larger cities but in localities where such 
phenomena were unthought of a decade ago. It cannot be 
on account of fashion, or for the sake of vanity, for there is 
neither a particular beauty nor convenience connected with 
this habit, nor can any satisfaction be derived from this open 
confession of the crippled condition of the most prominent 
of all the senses, a confession which should really appeal 
more strongly to our sympathies than the crutches of the 
lame or halt can do. This statement seems startling only 
through the fact that the frequency of the habit has blunted 
our sensibilities in regard to it. 

No reference is made here to dudes who with their mon- 
ocles endeavor to sharpen their physical vision, their mental 
one being hopelessly obscure anyway. Sympathy would be 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 229 

wasted in their case, as they are happy already in their self- 
admiration. 

Among- the many causes at work to produce the real or 
imaginary necessity for v/earing spectacles, is the condition 
of light in school-rooms and homes. In the case of the for- 
mer, it appears, that only at a comparatively recent date, the 
light question has received that consideration in the construc- 
tion of buildings and arrangement of rooms, which the im- 
portance ot the subject demands. In the case of the latter, 
nothing but incidental attention has been paid to it as a gen- 
eral thing thus far. 

The greater number of our school buildings, especially 
those of the primary grade, are open to severe criticism in 
this respect. Some of them are so constructed that the pupils 
have to face the light, as the windows are only at the front 
side, or the light comes from opposite sides, or from the right 
side only. These are the worst situations and most injurious 
to the eyesight. The degree of their injurious effects ranges 
in the order named. These and minor evils of construction 
may be modified to some degree by frosting the windows in 
order to distribute the light more evenly throughout the 
room, or by arranging the blinds, but all these contrivances 
can never fully rectify the original mistake in construction. 

The best light v/ould be that coming from windows in the 
ceiling, but as that would be impracticable in the most of in- 
stances, che next best would be by elevated windows, the 
sills of which are to be above the heads of the pupils. Where 
this could not be done, let the blinds be arranged so as to 
cover the lower instead of the upper parts of the windows. 

Parents also, would do well to remember these precautions 
during the home-studies of their children, and see that not 
only good lamp shades are provided for them, but the light 
at all times be sufficient by elevation above the eyelids. 

The too frequent and in many cases premature adoption 



2 30 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

of spectacles is a serious mistake and should be undertaken 
only on the advice of an experienced oculist. 

Teachers and parents ought to unite their efforts to pro- 
tect the eyesight ot young people against injury. Each in- 
dividual has a focus of his own, to determine which is the 
duty of every faithful teacher. The arrangement adopted in 
some of our leading educational institutions, of letting every 
student pass an optical examination to find his focus and to 
instruct him in regard to its observance, should be followed 
in every .school. 

It is to be hoped that legislative enactments will regulate 
these matters by and by. 

TEMPERATURE AND VENTILATION. 

These two, inseperable though they are in the performance 
of their mission, are brought, nevertheless, under unfavorable 
conditions or, by injudicious management, into serious con- 
flict with each other. 

Physical comfort in school and family circles is one of the 
requisites for the successful development and exercise of all 
physical and mental faculties. 

As mothers seek with anxious solicitude for an interpreta- 
tion of the language of fretfullness in their babes, in order to 
remove the cause, so should teachers be on the look-out for 
signals of distress or danger from among the pupils. Such 
signals are given by nature in regard to temperature, by 
drowsiness in hot weather, or in ill-ventilated rooms, or by 
coughing here and there in the room during spells of cold 
weather. 

The temperature of a school room should not be suffered 
to fall below 6o" Fahrenheit, nor rise above /O*' Fahrenheit. 
It should be nearer the former in warm weather, and the 
latter in cold weather. A thermometer should be in every 
school room, and some one be appointed to make observa- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 231 

tions from time to time during school hours, so that the tem- 
perature may be kept at a normal status. 

Heating by steam is the best mode for schools. There are 
many inconveniences connected with heating by stoves. The 
most objectionable feature of the latter mode is the unequal 
distribution of temperature. While often in winter mure than 
a tropical temperature pervades the immediate neighborhood 
of the stove, the heat decreases at an "inverse ratio to the 
square of the distance," as astronomers would express it, un- 
til the furthest removed corners of the room arc making ac- 
quaintance with the climate of the frigid zones. 

It is a hygienic law that the lower parts of the body should 
be kept com.paratively warm, but the head and adjoining 
parts correspondingly cool. This law cannot find a complete 
recognition by stove-heating, which does not reach the feet 
of the pupils stuck away under the desks and seats, while it 
surrounds the heads with a heated atmosphere. 

Many chronic complaints creating a great susceptibility 
for epidemic diseases, and resulting frequently in premature 
death, are traceable to this inefficient mode of heating. 

The improvements in this line are, therefore, not among 
the least triumphs of modern civilization. 

During cold weather many people mistake the animal heat, 
emanating from a big crowd in a close room, for the equiya- 
lent for a fire in a stove. Foul air is not only a poor but a 
very injurious substitute for a warm but healthy atmos- 
phere. 

This fact necessitates the calling into requisition the further 
factor mentioned at the head of this chapter, viz: ventil- 
ation. Fresh air is indispensable to life and health under all 
conditions, and its supply ought to be secured by the best 
contrivances within the reach of schools and homes. The 
blood running through the veins of man, requires constantly 
the purifying process of oxygen, which substance is supplied 



2 32 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

to the lungs by inhaling. Exhaling is the process of throw- 
ing out the carbonic acid that has been formed in the lungs 
by a combination of oxygen and the carbon in the blood. 
This carbonic acid is a poison, accumulating in close and 
crowded rooms very rapidly, causing nausea, headache, and 
drowsiness, as first symptoms of its evil effects upon the 
human system. These symptoms, if unheeded, quickly 
develop into more serious attacks, and may cause death. 

Where flumes with ventilators can not be had, doors and 
windows are the only other means through which the neces- 
sary circulation of fresh air can be effected. 

Draft, that pernicious counterfeit ot ventilation, ought to 
be guarded against by every teacher with careful solicitude. 
All windows should be so arranged as to permit a hoisting 
of the lower and a lowering of the upper parts. If only one 
part can be made moveable, it should always be the upper 
one, so that the current of air may pass above the heads of 
the persons in the room. Transoms should be adjusted in 
such a manner as to force the instreaming air toward the 
ceiling and describe a curve with the convex side upwards 
and thus become assimilated to some extent with the prevail- 
ing temperature of the room. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 233 

CHAPTER III. 



Furniture. 



That the teacher makes the school is true in every sense 
of the word, but, all other things being equal, the teacher, 
with good appliances, will more easily perform his task and 
accomplish more good, than the one who has to struggle with 
all kinds of inconveniences. 

Besides the school building with its various parts and 
requisites, as spoken of already, there are several other in- 
dispensable items whose greater or lesser completeness and 
appropriateness contribute largely to the whole tenor and 
progress of a school, or may retard it as the case may be. 
The first of these items \^ furnitiire. 

Without reviving the memories of those primitive condi- 
tions of early school times during the pioneer period of our 
people, when almost anything to sit on was good enough for 
a seat in school, and desks, when there were any at all, had 
to be constructed out of any piece of lumber that happened 
to be lying around loose — I proceed at once to the present 
state of affairs in regard to school furniture. I iim proud to 
record the praiseworthy efforts of school authorities and peo- 
ple throughout these mountain regions in supplying the school 
with furniture of the most improved style. 

This had to be accomplished, however, in many instances 
under heavy financial dif^culties, which only the earnest de- 
votion of our people to the cause of education could enable 
them to sustain. 

Although the comfort and physical requirements of the 
pupils are the first points of consideration in the selection of 



2 34 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

school furniture, experience is calling- the attention to the in- 
estimable value which the influence of a respectable school 
outfit exercises over the minds of the youth. 

At the re-opening of one of our church schools, the visitors 
found it furnished with new desks, carpets on the floor, wash- 
stands supplied, walls papered and decorated, and even the 
backyards clean and neatly arranged. One of the visitors 
regretted that all these "fine things" would soon be spoiled. 
The young urchins, he thought, would scratch, whittle, and 
deface everything. The principal, overhearing the remarks, 
pledged himself to have the furniture preserved to a reason- 
able extent during the school year, inviting his visitors to 
call again at the close of the year. He was taken at his word 
forty weeks later at the closing exercises. Not a mark was 
visible on the walls around the premises, not a scratch on 
desk or seat, not a rent in the carpets, no damage to anything 
except the unavoidable signs ot wear and tear produced by a 
crowd of about 300 children. 

This commendable condition was the result of the teachers 
calling to their assistance the natural regard in the heart of 
every child for that which is beautiful and pleasant, and they 
thus succeeded in training their pupils from despoiling things 
that are good. 

Every boy and girl is inclined to take good care of clothes, 
playthings, tools, or utensils of any kind so long as they are 
new, clean, and in good condition, but recklessness or indif- 
ference in their use increases in proportion to their soiled or 
dilapidated condition. 

Many parents might take note of this principle to great 
advantage; not only will dilapidated, and untidy household 
articles be entirely ruined much quicker than "nice" ones, 
but that they also exercise a demoralizing influence upon the 
character of the children. 

Slovenliness in these outward things reacts invariably upon 
the mind. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 235 

Hence, whether in school or at the fireside, untidy sur- 
roundings are accompanied by disorderly conduct as well as 
loose principles and habits. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Utensils. 



An enumeration of a complete school outfit would be as 
unnecessary, so far as information to school authorities is 
concerned, as it would be uncalled for in this work. In the 
case of the former, all educational publications are filled with 
advertisements of supplies from furnishing houses, and the 
choice from among them has to be regulated more or less by 
financial considerations. The aim and purpose of this work, 
direct the author along other lines. 

Whatever blackboards, maps, charts, or mathematical, geo- 
graphical, historical, physiological, and physical apparatus, 
may be at the disposal of any teacher, or whatever books, or 
writing material the pupils may have for their own use, one 
characteristic concerning them all ought to be considered 
essential, that is, a clean and orderly condition. It would be 
far preferable, for instance, to have no map at all, than to 
have a torn or defaced one. 

If the benefit derived from the facility in demonstrating or 
illustrating a point must be paid for by habituating the eyes 
and minds of the youth to sights of slovenliness and disorder, 
the price is too high, and the transaction is a bad one. 

If accidentally, or by constant use, any utensils should be- 
come damaged, and a new one could not be secured, the in- 



236 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

^enmty and adaptability of the teacher should devise means 
to repair the damage. Patched or mended clothes are no - 
disgrace if otherwise clean. 

None of the utensils for the purpose of instruction, and be- 
longing to the school, should ever be allowed to be touched 
or handled by the pupils, unless by special appointment, 
blackboards, and objects deposited on the teacher's desk not 
excepted. 

This principle, when once impressed upon the minds of the 
pupils, will not only insure the preservation of such articles, 
but also produce the far greater result of training the child- 
ren in the habit of respecting public property. 

In regard to the utensils used by the children as their own 
private property, as for instance, books and writing materials, 
the same rules as to observance of cleanliness and order and 
non-interference with the property of others, hold.s good. 
This principle should be inculcated by frequent inspection 
and careful supervision. 

The question of school books has been a perplexing one 
from the beginning and will remain so for a long time to come, 
in as much as the speculative tendencies of publishing firms, 
the preferences of individual teachers, the financial capacities 
of the people to meet the demand, are not often found to run 
precisely in the same channels. 

It cannot be denied that the ever-increasing multitude 
of school books for every grade, branch, and study, is an 
evidence of the over-wrought competition between publishers 
of this class of works. 

It would be extremely unjust, however, to lay the blame 
for this condition exclusively at the door of the teachers. 
The spirit of high-pressure pervading everything in our na- 
tion, the system of competition between schools of every grade, 
the continuous change of teachers forcing them to make as 
splendid a record for themselves in as short a time as pos- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 237 

sible, are the chief causes of producing- a feverish haste, 
which is too often accepted in lieu of solid and real pro- 
gress. 

These remarks may appear to some as deviating from the 
subject under consideration, but reflection will soon show the 
logical connection. 

These reflections recommend themselves also to the con- 
sideration of parents, for the principles of order and cleanli- 
ness, to be observed in a school room, form the moral eleva- 
tion and intellectual advancement of the pupils, are the same 
that ought to pervail at the fireside. 

A home does not need to have a choice supply of com- 
modities and conveniences in order to be a model for the 
children growing up there. 

During the pioneer period of our people in these valleys of 
the mountains, I have seen dwellings dug out of the moun- 
tain side, with furniture made out of barrels and boxes, etc., 
that were, nevertheless, models of order, cleanliness, and re- 
fined taste. Poverty gives no license for disorder, slovenli- 
ness, and filth. There are, on the other hand, pretentious 
residences, furnished with all the luxury that money can 
procure, that in no wise present the spectacle of good taste 
or order, and would be far from being considered model 
homes. 

The blessings of a model home have their source in the 
heart, springing forth from thence and enlivening the home 
whether surrounded by poverty or afBuence, and blessed 
are the children that are born and raised near such foun- 
tains. 

The importance of playthings for children is not as much 
appreciated as their far-reaching influence demands. 

While some parents in their entire neglect of this educa- 
tional principle force their children to seek diversion among 
the questionable influences of street companions, others are 



2 38 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

falling into the other extreme by surfeiting- their little ones 
with such a variety of playthings as to deprive them of last- 
ing value in their eyes. Playthings should open a field for 
the exercise of the imagination, and give the child an oppor- 
tunity for practicing invention, as, for instance, uncolored 
building blocks for boys, and for girls, dolls to be dressed as 
taste, fancy, and material on hand, may suggest; picture 
books, carpenter tools, etc. 

Each child should have a receptacle of his own for his books 
and playthings, and be trained to keep them in good order, 
and to respect the things ot his brothers and sisters, as well 
as those belonging to the other members of the family. 

Great progress in the matter of regulating the plays of 
children and in teaching them to become self-entertaining, 
which is the first step to the principle of being self-sustain- 
ing, is being made by the Kindergarten movement. All 
parents will do well to avail themselves of the great help this 
movement is rendering them in training their children in a 
judicious manner. 

I say again, have books, pictures, and things for your child- 
ren to make the fireside as attractive to them as possible. 
Do not place them in the same deplorable condition as a cer- 
tain young man was. who, as an excuse for loafing around 
the streets, confessed to me, i/iat he had notJiiug to stay 
home for. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 239 

CHAPTER V. 



Libraries, Cabinets, Etc. 



Libraries and cabinets stand in the same relationship to 
schools and firesides as mill-ponds to mills and factories, or 
reservoirs to large tracts of irrigable land. They are reserves 
to which recourse for supply can be had in case of need. 

The meaning of a complete library or cabinet is very 
relative, as it depends upon the requirements of every indi- 
vidual school or fireside. 

A school library should contain at least a full set of each 
of the various text and reference books used at the school, 
an unabridged dictionary, an encyclopcudia, a copy of the 
school law of the state, and one or two works on theory and 
practice of teaching from some of the leading educators. To 
these are added, in most of our schools, the standard works 
and leading publications of the church. 

These numbers can be augmented indefinitely by voluntary 
contributions from friends and patrons of the school, if teach- 
ers and scliool authorities will take the proper steps toward 
inspiring the public with the idea. 

If the statement of a celebrated botanist is correct, that 
there is no love in a house where there are no flowers, then 
my statement is true also, that there is no intelligence in a 
family where they have no books. 

Books are tell-tales not only in regard to what they contain, 
but also in regard to those who keep them. Some family 
libraries are gotten up for the purpose of parade, and they 
give themselves away to that effect by their elegantly bound 
but unused appearance; (some are well used but betray the 



240 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

sliallow and superficial character of their owner,) some are an 
honor to their possessors by the worthy championship in 
which they find themselves with one another and their 
masters, and showing- the latter's intercourse with them by 
marginal notes, book marks, notes, and interpolations. 

Besides this general family librar)^ which should be acces- 
sible at all times to the younger members of the family, every 
child should be taught to keep his own set of books, take 
pride in them, and be encouragud to study how to increase 
their number by honorable and praiseworthy means, and by 
suitable selections. 

As the establishment of a reading room in every one of our 
public schools is out of the question, notwithstanding the 
great desirability of such an arrangement, our Sunday schools 
and Mutual Improvement Associations supply this deficiency 
to a great extent, so that the most of our school children 
have the benefits of some library within their reach. 

The advantages of having a cabinet are of a two-fold nature. 
In the first place the objects contained therein are very handy 
for conducting object-lessons, and in the second place, the 
Pestalozzian method of cultivating the power of observation 
among the pupils by inducing them to collect all kinds of 
specimens, is the very essence of learning. 

Teachers will readily obtain from farmers all the various 
seeds cultivated in the neighborhood, the stores will gladly 
furnish samples of everything in the dry goods and grocery 
line, friends and patrons of education will donate cheerfully 
mineralogical, botanical, or zoological specimens, or rare 
pieces of technical, geographical, or historical interest. There 
is very little expense connected with starting and maintain- 
ing a valuable cabinet, only much patience, perseverance, and 
ingenuity are required. 

Parents should study the inclination of every one of their 
children in this direction and encourage them in such pursuits. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 241 

While some children may love to collect leaves and flowers, 
others may prefer the collection of insects, or others again 
take delight in a mineral cabinet, while others take pride in 
a collection of geographical, historical, or technical illustra- 
tions, or in coins, some even in postage stamps. In short, 
encourage them in the collection of anything that cultivates 
observation, perseverance, systematizing, and order. All the 
trouble connected with such pursuits will be richly repaid by 
the moral and intellectual benefits derived therefrom. 



S0HOOL MANAGEMENT, 



CHAPTER I. 



Introduction. 



The relationship of theory to practice in education is so 
close and indissoluble that any neglect in the one operates 
with disadvantage upon the other so far as the results aimed 
at, are concerned. 

The process of bringing into practical operation the 
theories which one may entertain concerning scholastic and 
domestic education constitutes what is generally termed 
"management," and its success or failure depends to a very 
large degree upon it. 

In the management of educational affairs, therefore, whether 
at the fireside or in the school the masterhand of an educator, 
or its opposite, may be easily recognized. Scholastic edu- 
cation, requiring of necessity a more pronounced systematic 
course of procedure in every particular, finds in emulation 
and the cultivation of a sense of duty, the strongest incen- 
tives, while domestic education would fail, when love and 
affection are not the guiding stars in its sphere. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 243 

CHAPTER II. 



Aims. 



IS 



An educator's conception of the nature and aims of hi 
mission determines the outlines of the work before him. It 
his ideas in regard to these points are narrow and dwarfed, 
the methods employed and ends aimed at will be correspond- 
ingly circumscribed, while loftier and grander aims are ex- 
pressed in the adoption of corresponding methods. 

DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUALITY. 

Every human being is a world in miniature. It has its own 
centre of observation, its own way of forming concepts and 
of arriving at conclusions, its own degree of sensibility, its 
own life's work to do, and its own destiny to reach. All these 
features may be encompassed by general conditions, governed 
by general laws, and subject to unforeseen influences and in- 
cidents, but within the sphere of their own activity, they 
constitute that great principle which we call individuality. 

Individuality means not the mere part of existence, as in 
plant-life, nor the mere power of conscious volition as in the 
animal. In man it means that inheritance that separates 
man from the rest of the physical creation, empowers him 
with endless progression, and designates him as an offspring 
of Diety. 

This divine attribute of man is placed for the time being 
at the disposal of the educator, whether in the family circle 
or at the school, to cultivate and develop it to its utmost 
capacities. 

With what care and solicitude we are apt to handle any 



244 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

previous subject, the value of which may consist either in its 
monetary consideration, or in affectionate reminiscences con - 
nected wich it! What an amount of labor, skill, and mental 
effort we often devote to our daily pursuits for the purpose of 
securing the necessities of life, or of accumulating means, of 
achieving fame, or of satisfying the cravings for knowledge 
or for activity in social, political, scientific, literary, or artis- 
tic spheres! And yet, all these activities can not compare 
with the great responsibilities resting upon him that is called 
upon to guide the development of the youth. Schedules, 
theories, systems, methods, and rules, are empirical contriv- 
ances, subject to the fluctuations and changes of environ- 
ments, and are no more available in all cases than patent 
medicines are to all ailments. 

It is the fashion in Chinese gardening to force trees and 
shrubs out of their natural way of growing, into all kinds of 
fantastic shapes according to the fancy and notion of their 
master. There is a great deal of Chinese gardening going on 
in education. 

Dispositions and capacities are to a great extent predicted 
upon ancestry, parentage, and surroundings, and even those 
inclinations and proclivities that may be pronounced as evil, 
are in most instances only natural endowments in an unhealthy 
or perverted condition. 

A correct diagnosis of a disease depends largely upon the 
clear understanding of its causes, and the remedy, upon their 
removal. The science of health dates its rapid progress from 
the time of its commencing to discount more and more the 
application of violent and desperate means. 

This same evolution from rude and crude to more rational 
methods is observable also in education. 

In olden times, the switch, the ferule, and other cruel and 
disgraceful means of punishment were the nostrums by which 
moral and intellectual defects were sousrht to be remedied 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 245 

and prevented for the future. Children of a stubborn or way- 
ward disposition, of idle and indolent habits, lacking concen- 
trativeness and application, etc., had to be broken in by 
heroic treatment, and the rod was the acknowledged emblem 
of training in family and school. Authority and might on 
the one side and obedience and submissiveness on the other, 
were the stakes around which individuality was led to twine 
itself, even if its joints had to be broken to accomplish the 
feat. 

A child's disposition can never be broken, but it can be 
spoiled and ruined for life. There are other influences for 
guidance than the mere exercise of authority, and other in- 
centives to progress than thoughtless submission to unsym- 
pathetic dictates. The exercise of authority without intelli- 
gent justice and kind consideration is tyranny, and obedience 
without consent of heart or brain is slavery. 

Oversight in regard to this principle in education had been 
in conformity with the, in some degree, arbitrary conditions 
of society, family and school, until comparatively recent 
times. An entire emancipation from such thralldom will be 
accomplished only by the spirit of the great Latter-day work, 
which leads to all truth, embraces all truth, and advocates 
all truth. The philosophies and theories of the world and its 
churches have demonstrated their inefficiency in performing 
this task. 

Every child ought to have a chance to develop its moral, 
mental, and spiritual faculties to their utmost capacity. This 
can be accomplished only by a judicious distribution of the 
principles of obedience and discretion. In the former the 
will-power, in the latter the judgment, is the chief object of 
control, but in both, affection should forever hold sway. 

It has been stated by eminent psychologists that an intant 
is a little savage in so far as it is controlled only by impulses 
of selfishness. Granting this to be true, it follows that a child 



246 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

naturally endowed with a strong will-power, but as yet devoid 
of any judgment to use it properly, will be pronounced to be 
either stubborn, wild, or uncontrollable, while one of a less 
gifted disposition in this regard may appear more yielding 
and obedient, and, therefore, in a more favorable light. 

Two kinds of treatment in such cases may be mentioned 
here as being the most illogical in their nature and the most 
disastrous in their results. 

The first one is the process of bi'caking into subjection and 
obedience any refractory young-one, as already alluded to 
aboye. The results of this barbarous treatment are frequent- 
ly lying, hypocrisy, or licentiousness when the arbitrary 
treatment is removed, while in cases of weak will-power the 
needed strengthening influence is denied, and self-reliance 
and independence of character remain unattainable features. 
This educational mistake, however, does not largely prevail 
in America. 

It is the other extreme which needs special consideration 
right here. 

"Boys will be boys." "O, let him sow his wild oats, he 
will settle down by and by." These and similar fallacies have 
brought many a young man to grief and ruin, and were the 
startingipoints from which many criminals had to trace their 
careers, ending in the prison or on the gallows. 

No mother lets her infant crawl or walk any further than 
she can control its movements, to preserve it from the possi- 
bility of accident. This illustrates the principle to be kept 
in view when the cultivation of character is concerned. 
Character developes most advantageously under a just distri- 
bution of the injunction to obedience and extension of dis- 
cretionary exercise of will-power. 

As a mother picks up her infant before it crawls out of reach, 
not because she did not intend to let it ever learn to walk, 
but to let it go only as tar as it has strength to do without 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE 247 

endangering itself, she is extending, however cautiously, the 
range of the child's movements. Thus a judicious educator, 
whether in school or at the fireside, measures out the amount 
of discretion allowed to the yet immature young minds in 
exact proportion to their gradually developing judgment. 

The modeling of the individuality of a young mind sur- 
passes, in delicacy and import, the works of a sculptor whose 
material consists only of clay or mortar and will sooner or 
later crumble to dust again, while the educator's material is 
immortal souls, more pliable than clay, more susceptible to 
impressions than marble. Whatever care or carelessness, 
wise solicitude or criminal neglect may have perfected or 
caused this individuality to degenerate, will be brought out 
with indelible clearness to testify for or against those into 
whose hands had been confided this sacred stewardship. 

CULTIVATION OF PUBLIC SPIRIT. 

'•Man does not live for himself alone." Although a truism, 
this saying should demand the most serious consideration in 
all educational affairs. It is, however, too apparent that, as 
a general thing, neither school nor home seem to look upon 
it as an injunction worthy of a practical application in the 
training of the youth. 

To instruct the rising generation in knowledge and accom- 
plishments that will enable them "to paddle their own 
canoe," or "to hoe their own row." or to make their way to 
prosperity and distinction, with some ethical instructions 
thrown in, in order to give the whole system the flavor ot 
morality, constitutes about the sum total of modern educa- 
tion. 

It is not the author's intention in this connection, to speak 
disparagingly of the efforts of our denominational schools 
that are endeavoring to give to their teaching a religious 
foundation, nor of the praiseworthy feature of our public 



248 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

school-system to cultivate patriotism by the introduction of 
patriotic songs and by relating incidents from the lives of 
our great men and women — these features are to be highly 
commended as far as they go; they touch the point in ques- 
tion only very slightly, however. 

Man, as a member of the human family, has a reciprocal 
relationship to sustain. This fact rests not merely upon the 
commercial principle of demand and supply, or equivalent for 
equivalent, but finds its mainspring in the instigation of public 
spirit. 

In monarchies, where, in the hearts of the subjects, the 
solemn teaching is inculcated, that fidelity to the king in 
peace and war, is the citizen's highest duty, and where a 
Louis XIV, of France, could exclaim "I am the state," 
(I'etate c'est moi,) or William II, of Germany, could write 
"The will of the king is the highest law," (regis voluntas 
ultima lex,) public spirit is not an essential factor in national 
affairs, and shows itself only occasionally in the acts of some 
philantrophic or broad-souled character, as in the case of 
Count Tolstoi, in Russia, August Herman Franke, in Ger- 
many, Father Mathews, in Ireland, and others. 

In a republic like ours, the case stands, however, quite 
different. Here, the masses of the citizens are the makers 
of their own destiny. If the nation's fortunes, the adminis- 
tration of public affairs, the prosperity of communities and 
individuals shall be what every honest man would desire, 
then the sources from which these conditions derive their 
existence must be pure, and adequate to so desirable a con- 
sumation. If these sources are lacking the requisite qualifi- 
cations, but are impregnated instead with selfishness, venality, 
greedy partisanship, office-hunting for "what is in it," indif- 
ference, or even worse motives, then the body politic be- 
comes infected and diseased, and its ultimate dissolution is a 
mere question of time. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 249 

To what extent such a condition of affairs may be prevail- 
ing in our own country, it is not the place here to discuss, 
but this much must be said, that our public educational sys- 
tem from the primary schools upwards throughout all the 
various stages to our Universities, make no sufficient provi- 
sions for the cultivation of public spirit in the hearts of their 
pupils. 

Whatever there is of public spirit among our people is gen- 
erated at the firesides by the example of noble spirited citi- 
zens with whom the young people may happen to come in 
contact. 

As an essential factor in education, the cultivation of public 
spirit has not yet been recognized by our public school 
system. 

Incidental instructions, corroborated by example, especially 
in the family circle, are productive of much good in this re- 
spect, but in the school, where alone a systematic training 
could be inaugurated, nothing has been done thus far to any 
remarkable extent to cultivate public spirit. 

The systematizing of efforts for the cultivation of public 
spirit is known in our Church schools by the name of the 
"Monitorial System." 

Many teachers, even of long experience, are laboring under 
the mistaken idea, that monitors in school are appointed 
merely for the purpose of assisting the teacher in the adjust- 
ment of minor disciplinary items, so that the teacher may be 
able to turn his attention more exclusively to the main work 
before him. This explanation, definition, or view of the case 
demonstrates the entire want of comprehension of this prin- 
ciple, as an experienced teacher needs no such help, know- 
ing that all such things could be attended to by himself far 
more efficiently. But this is not the point at issue. 

The point in question is to give every pupil something to 
be responsible for outside and beyond his own individual con- 



cerns. 



2 50 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

To educate a pupil so as to make him realize the necessity 
of complying- with the rules of the school, to have his lessons 
well prepared, and to make reasonable progress in his studies, 
and then to "toe the mark" in these points, is generally con- 
sidered the acme of scholastic education. So far as domestK: 
education is concerned, the same rule holds good as applied 
to the different spheres of activities. But the cultivation of 
public spirit cuts no figure in either. 

Let the teacher invent, if need be, all kinds of offices for his 
pupils to fill, and distribute them according to his best judg- 
ment, or by the selection of the pupils, with occasional 
rotation in office, and thus give the young people a chance 
to cultivate the sense of devotion to the necessities and well- 
being of their comrades, and to learn to appreciate the sense 
of public responsibility. They will habituate themselves in 
the performance of public duties without apparent remunera- 
tion; they will cultivate integrity, honor, and reliability; they 
will gain an experience that will be of incalculable value not 
only to themselves but to the people at large among whom 
their lot may be cast in the future. 

Betrayal of public trusts, office-seeking for "what is in it," 
partisanship for selfish ends, and the sacrifice of public in- 
terests to the gratification of personal agrandisement, would 
be relegated to the slums of political trickery and exposed on 
the pillory of public ignominy and disgrace. 

The nation woul enjoy an atmosphere of political purity, 
men would be chosen tor public offices on account of their 
intelligence, integrity, and devotion to the public weal, and a 
respect and reverence would be cheerfully accorded by all to 
the representatives of the peoole, and to the executors of the 
law. 

REVERENCE FOR LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY. 

It is the misfortune of many reformers and revolutionary 
heroes that their followers often carry the original movement 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 2 $ I 

to extremes and thereby create worse conditions than those 
from which escape was sought to be secured by heavy sacri- 
fice. When our revolutionary fathers arose with patriotic 
fire and struck off the fetters of despotism that threatened to 
be fastened tighter and tighter upon them, they wrote in 
letters of blood the declaration that all governments derived 
their authority and just powers from the consent of the gov- 
erned. 

Although thus pointing out the only legitimate source of 
governmental powers, they, at the same time, recognize the 
right of government and its avithority. 

The very term "authority" implies respect and venera- 
tion. 

It is the mission ot popular education to accept this prin- 
ciple as one of its objective points, and to devise means and 
methods by which it can be best put into a system of prac- 
tical training. 

As all education commences in the family circle, there the 
germ of the sense of veneration and reverence ought to be 
implanted in the young heart, as it is protected there not 
only by the divine commandment: "Thou shalt honor thy 
father and thy mother," but also by the irrisistible power of 
natural affection. For lather and mother are to the child the 
first object-lessons on which to practice the glorious principle 
of reverence. 

Yet, notwithstanding the divine injunction, the voice of 
nature, and the teachings and examples of good men and 
women among all nations and in all ages, there is no people 
among whom the principle of reverence is less cultivated than 
it is among the Americans. 

The cause of this deplorable deficiency in our national 
character is traceable directly to the sin of omission at the 
firesides of the nation, where reverence for parental authority 
is suffered to carry on a precarious existence in too many 



2 52 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

instances, until it gradually disappears, to be supplanted by 
a nondescript relationship that is taken for independence of 
character. 

A lack of loyalty thus engendered in youth makes itself 
felt later on in all affairs of public life, in politics, in official 
circles, in business transactions, in literature, art, and science. 
A materialism is penetrating all relationships that men have 
to sustain one with another, and that threatens to deaden 
all lofty aspirations. 

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This 
injunction from an inspired source admonishes us to train the 
children in the reverence for things divine, as therein is the 
beginning of wisdom. What things are divine.? 

A careful answer to this question will furnish us with an 
inexhaustible supply of object lessons for the practice of 
reverence and veneration. 

There is, in the first place, the father's house, the home, 
the fireside. Let children be reminded of the fact, that days 
may come in their lives, when they would give almost all 
they possessed, even years of their life, if they could be back 
again once more in their father's house, and if only for half 
an hour. To children thus trained, their earthly home is only 
an object-lesson in preparing them for the duties and bless- 
ings of a heavenly home yet to come. 

The school house presents to the teacher endless oppor- 
tunities for cultivating the principle of reverence for law, 
authority, principles, and persons, so that the future citizens 
may look back with gratitude to their school days during 
which they were trained in those glorious principles of rever- 
ence for all that is true, noble, righteous, and pure, that con- 
stitute the mainspring of all their actions and are the founda- 
tions of their prosperity and reputation. 

In reiligious as well as in all kinds of public assemblies, 
even in theatres and places of amusement, children are to 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 253 

be taught the principle of respect and reverence for the 
place, the occasion, the proprieties, and for the feelings of 
others. 

Respect and reverence for old age are only stepping stones 
to reverence for divinity and its attributes, and its practice 
is an object lesson for the cultivation of religiosity. 

In like manner sacred objects, places, things, times, and 
principles can be used as object-lessons through which the 
principle of reverence can be cultivated. The Latter-day 
Saints have made a start in these matters by their efforts in 
their Church schools, Sunday schools. Mutual Improvement 
Associations, and Primaries, and in their Quorum and Priest- 
hood meetings, and Relief Societies. This principle is urged 
upon the parents for cultivation at their firesides. 



CHAPTER III. 



Outline Work. 



Drafting the outlines for school work is to the teacher 
what the design for a building is to an architect. It deter- 
mines the degree of mastership which either teacher cr archi- 
tect may have attained in his respective profession. In both 
instances the execution is to a great extent distributed among 
specialists, practical workers, and subordinates, whose indi- 
vidual efficiency, competency, and ingenuity are restricted to 
certain limits marked out by the ground work. 

The physiognomy, or rather individuality of a school, no 
more depends on the style of building or the manner of its 
equipment, than an elaborate or inferior dress determines the 



2 54 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

intellectual or moral character of the person wearing it. 

The outline work of a school determines its status, it 
should be conceived in integrity, and carried out in honesty. 

False pretentions for the sake of making a fine show, for 
attracting patronage, or for reflecting disadvantageously upon 
more conservative educational institutions, are a crime com- 
mitted against the public in general and the youth in partic- 
ular. To reduce the possibility of such impositions to more 
narrowed limits, the state should provide for the appointment 
of public school inspectors, that are professional educators. 
The State and County Superintendents, if possessing that 
requisite qualification and not subject to political partisan- 
ship, would naturally be the most suitable ofificers for that 
duty. 

Such school inspection should be made on the basis of the 
©fificial outline work of the school and the results be reported 
to the county or state authorities. 

A complete outline work to be made obligatory, for every 
school, or set of schools; should consist of a circular, a plan, 
a program, and records. All these are often found either in 
part, or entirely in one issue. 

CIRCULARS. 

The circulars issued annually by the leading educational 
institutions ot our country are in most instances models. 
They contain historical reviews of their respective institu- 
tions, lists of the members of their Boards and Faculties, 
leading points of the various studies taught, grading and 
graduation, conditions of entrance, provisions regulating the 
moral, scholastic, domestic, and financial requirements of the 
students, illustrations and descriptions of buildings, grounds, 
rooms, and apparatus, etc. 

These circulars are pledges to the public that the work 
outlined in them will be faithfully performed, and the final 



'-*?^v.f3^^\;;y.:- *! 




^ 

c'c3 



H 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 255 

results at the end of every school year are the legitimate 
criterion of the work done. 

PLANS. 

Complete plans of every grade and study, for the whole 
school year, or even for a period of years, are as essential for 
the carrying on of a school, as the specifications for a builder 
are necessary to the construction of a house. 

A great step forward has been made in our public and de- 
nominational schools by the adoption of the "Eighth Grade 
Plan," according to which a certain uniformity of grading, 
text-books, and methods of teaching, has been accomplished. 
Especially is the vast improvement made by this system 
realized in many of our country school districts, where, on 
account of the shortness of the school season, (only three or 
four months,) a babylonic, arbitrary, and in many instances 
absolutely aimless confusion in subject matter and methods, 
used to prevail. 

The County Teachers' Institutes, State Conventions of 
Teachers, Summer Schools, and the arrangement enjoining 
upon teachers the necessity of interchanging professional 
visits with one another, are of incalculable value in maturing 
plans for school work, in as much as they enable teachers to 
enlargetheir ideas and avoid falling into stereotyped methods; 
thus keeping their minds open for suggestive advancement, 
and qualifying themselves for the attainment of mastership 
in their profession. This term implies far more than a certain 
efficiency in practical class work. A mere class worker 
stands in the same relationship to a true educator as a per- 
forming musician stands to the leader of an orchestra, or to 
a composer, or a subordinate oflficer to a general. 

PROGRAMS. 

One glance at the daily program of a school will tell an 
experienced educator, whether the teacher is a professional 



256 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

or an amateur in his work. There are several principles to 
be observed amidst all the difficulties in the composition of a 
daily program. Conflicting studies, great number of classes, 
want of room, and other perplexing problems demanding 
solution may modify in some degree these principles, but 
they must remain visible in the construction of the program. 

There are reflective, memorative, and mechanical studies 
to be distributed. The first of these as mathematics, 
language studies, and sciences, claim a place among the first 
exercises of the day, when the mind is fresh, vigorous, and 
not yet fatigued by hard or long studying; memorative 
studies, such as history and geography, that are enlivened 
by imagination, may either follow; while mechanical studies, 
like penmanship, drawing, and music, should be the last, 
when the mind needs relaxation or change oi occupation. 

The pupils also require consideration, and the program 
ought to be arranged in such a manner as to alternate stu- 
dents of different classes as much as possible. No student 
should be left too long without a recitation. Study and reci- 
tation should alternate as nearly as possible. 

By a judicious composition of the daily program a teacher 
may secure much valuable assistance by the buoyancy and 
freshness of spirits, vigor of mind, and readiness ot attention 
on the part of his pupils, as they are never suffered to 
become weary by too long occupation with one kind of 
work. 

Time also is an important factor in the construction of a 
program. Generally 360 minutes constitute a full school 
day. During these 360 minutes sometimes from eighteen to 
twenty recitations, two recesses, and changes of classes, each 
taking from two to three minutes, have to be disposed of. 
Some classes, on account of their numbers, or the subject- 
matter, or the grade, need more time than others, some 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 257 

may be made to alternate with others, but none can be passed 
over. 

Punctuality and precision in recitations is an indispensable 
requisite for successful school work. To this end a copy of 
the daily program in large and plain writing ought to be 
placed at the most conspicuous point in the school room, and 
a clock hung up in sight of teacher and students for guid- 
ance. 

Every teacher ought to learn to gauge his work for every 
recitation, like a journalist gauges the article for his paper in 
accordance with the allotted space. As a rule, no teacher is 
justified in running over his time a single minute, nor in 
closing a minute too soon. This precision reacts favorably 
upon the students, as they get habituated in punctuality, 
while an opposite course on the part of the teacher will de- 
prive the students of the benefits of this mental training. 

This rule becomes a matter of absolute necessity in schools 
with several departments, each with its own teacher, where 
often teachers and students may have to change about into 
different departments for recitation. In such cases, any ir- 
regularity on the part of a teacher may interfere seriously 
with the whole machinery. 



RECORDS. 



Any business kept without strict accounts would soon be 
thrown into helpless confusion and end in financial disaster. 
What accounts are to the business man, records are to the 
teacher. 

It has been supposed by some that records are to be kept 
solely for the purpose of reference, to enable the teacher to 
make correct reports, conduct his reviews by them, and for 
the inspection of the presiding authorities. These points are 
correct, but they are not the only ones underlying the neces- 
sity for keeping them conscientiously and complete. Care- 



2 58 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

less and unreliable records are like careless and unreliable 
accounts, they are worse than useless, they are misleading, 
and none at all would be preferable. 

There is a moral feature connected with these records 
which no teacher can afford to overlook. As we have chrono- 
meters, thermometers, barometers, I might call these records 
psychometers, or measures, indicating the degrees of regular- 
ity, precision, efficiency, and progress of teachers and pupils, 
within the lines marked out for them in the plan. By these 
records, if reliable, the teacher may see at any time whether 
he is gaining on his work or falling behind, whether this 
year's work compares favorably or otherwise with that of 
previous years, or with that of other schools, whether such a 
proportion of his pupils are "toeing the mark" as will justify 
him in pronouncing his labors successful or otherwise, and 
finally, these records will be a stricter critic upon his own 
labors than any one else could be. These records are: 

The Historical Record, 

containing all the changes that have occurred in the Board, 
the Faculty, the organization, the building, the improvements, 
and other important items connected with the school since 
its organization. 

The General Record 

with an alphabetic index, containing the names of all the 
pupils that ever attended the school, arranged b)^ years, with 
specifications of age, parentage, domicile, entrance, depart- 
ment, etc. 

The Register of Studies, 

also designated by several other names, containing the week- 
ly record of subjects treated in every class, with references 
to text-books or plan. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 259 

T/ie Rollbook, 

indicating the daily regularity, punctuality, preparation, etc., 
of the pupils. This record should form the basis for the 
periodical reports to the parents of the pupils' standing. 

The manner of keeping these records testifies plainer than 
anything else can do in regard to the spirit in which a teacher 
is performing his work. Incomplete and unreliable records 
should condemn any teacher in the eyes of his superiors and 
of the public. 




DISSIPLINE, 



CHAPTER I. 



Introductory. 



Discipline is the climate of the school. It may be severe 
or genial, subject to tempestuous disturbances or of even 
temperature, so to speak; it may have a tendency to produce 
unhealthy conditions of body and mind, or be conducive of 
the highest development of the physical, moral, intellectual, 
and spiritual faculties ot the child. 

No school or family can be without some kind of dis- 
cipline, any more than a country can be conceived to be 
without any climate. The discipline may be wretched in 
many ways, as some climates are, but there must be some 
condition of affairs prevailing in every family or school, that 
characterizes the intercourse between parents or teachers on 
the one side, and children or pupils on the other. This con- 
dition is not only the result, but is the very essence of disci- 
pline. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 261 

CHAPTER II. 



Methods. 



A METHOD is a systematized procedure by which some 
abstract principle assumes a concrete form of action. There 
is not only a great variety of methods by which any one 
principle may be sought to be carried out or cultivated, but 
these methods themselves are often subject to variations as 
to time, conditions, experience, and individualities. Princi- 
ples are formulated truth, and as such are exceedingly con- 
servative and tenacious; while methods are fluctuating and 
more or less experimentative in their nature. They ought 
to be used judiciously, as an organist uses the stops of his 
organ, now some, now others, as the various passages in the 
piece to be performed may require. 

There is, however, one caution which parents and teachers 
may observe with great advantage; that is, to guard against 
experimentalism in educational methods. Our educational 
journals are full of all kinds of suggestions, our teachers' in 
stitutes, conventions, and lectures, are constantly bringing 
forth new ideas in regard to disciplinary methods. There 
are some parents and teachers always on the alert for some- 
thing new in that line to experiment with, on their children 
or pupils. These experimentalists are like some cranks, that 
try every patent medicine advertised in the papers. 

All methods of discipline may be classified under two 
heads, compulsory and emulative. The former is best char- 
acterized by the imperative "Thou shalt," while the latter 
sees in the cultivation of the "I will" of the pupil, its chief 
disciplinary motive. 



262 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

COMPULSORY. 

To the honor of our present stage of civilization be it said, 
that the days of the switch and ferule, and other means of 
corporal punishment are rapidly passing away. The despotic 
reign of the schoolmaster of olden times was a suitable ground- 
work upon which to erect the superstructures of tyranny, 
aristocratic supremacy, arbitrary laws, with their cruel modes 
of punishment, and that state of society which recognized 
only two classes of people, one class that had the power of 
command, the other the duty to obey. 

Inasmuch as the school and the fireside are the two great 
nurseries of the human family, much depends upon the con- 
trolling principles according to which the education of the 
rising generation is to be regulated. These principles shape, 
to a very great extent, the character of the generation into 
whose charge the inheritances of the past will be placed for 
further improvement. They will either prove themselves 
worthy of that sacred trust, or fall short to their own sor- 
row. 

Corporal or physical punishment of any kind is illogical, 
and is not a natural sequence or result of the offense, but must 
of necessity bear to some extent the character of arbitrari- 
ness. 

The laws of nature have excluded forever in their opera- 
tion the principle of arbitrariness; neither are the laws gov- 
erning the moral, mental, and spiritual operations constructed 
upon an arbitrary plan. Why should educational operations 
be carried on differently.'^ 

The application of corporal or physical punishment of any 
kind is always an evidence, that either on the part of the 
parent or teacher all moral and mental resources to meet the 
emergency were either exhausted or unknown, or that on the 
part of the child or pupil the comprehension of the require- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 263 

ment was too dull, or the will-power to follow instructions, 
was too weak, so that the element of fear or physical suffer- 
ing had to be introduced as a stimulator. 

The application of such means is either a confession of 
moral or intellectual deficiency on the part of the educator, 
be he parent or teacher, or it may be a matter of an excep- 
tional necessity. These compulsory means may enforce 
compliance with some requirement but will never convey 
conviction of its rightfulness to the mind of the pupil or 
child. If conviction comes at all, it must come by other 
means. 

Any educator of long experience may recall incidents which 
seemed to make corporal or physical punishment of some 
kind a necessity. There are, for instance, moral cripples, as 
well as physical, and mental ones. While asylums provide 
for the last, and hospitals for physical unfortunates; the re- 
form schools, and in aggravated cases, jails and peniten- 
tiaries, attend to moral cripples. Mental cripples, in greater 
or lesser degrees of decrepitude, are found in many schools and 
families: in some instances heredity, in others evil surround- 
ings, may be responsible for them, nevertheless, there are 
natural liars, natural thieves, hypocrites, cheats, etc., to be 
handled in education. In such exceptional cases, the educa- 
tor finds himself in the situation of a physician, who finds 
that mere hygienic or medicinal appliances would be of no 
avail, but that the emergency calls for heroic treatment, or 
an operation. Even in surgery it is plain to an observing 
mind that the urgency for such dangerous operations is con- 
stantly lessened by the progress of the medicinal sciences. 
This is likewise the case in education. 

As no physician resorts to operations in trifling ailments, 
so no educator is justified in applying violent measures in his 
regular disciplinary course, 

A judicious discipline may be compared to an iron hand in 



264 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

a velvet glove. It should not be seen, nor heard, nor felt on 
every occasion, but be held in reserve; always present, never- 
theless. 

An absolutely quiet school, or a family life that moves 
along with the mechanical regularity of clock-work, may be 
good enough for parade purposes, but can certainly not be 
considered a model example in education. Restriction or 
suppression of the legitimate manifestations and develop- 
ment of individuality is not discipline, nor can methods of 
squeezing immortal souls into a common mould be called 
education. 

EMULATIVE. 

If the educational motto in times past was: "Go, and do 
this," and the compulsory methods enforced it with more or 
less relentlessness, the emulative methods of discipline are 
adopting another course of procedure. 

The highest ideal of emulation is given to us in the exam- 
ple of Jesus Christ, whose educational principles can be con- 
densed in his beautiful saying: "Come, follow me." 

Parents and teachers will only be successful in their dis- 
ciplinary methods to the extent of their own example, and of 
their being able to make Christ's motto their own. This is 
one of the strongest emulative methods known. Without it 
all exhortation, pleading, reasoning, etc., will lack the true 
ring, and will be "like a sounding brass or a tinkling 
cymbal." 

Presents and gifts as means of encouragement are not 
objectionable in themselves, as they are acts ot kindness, en- 
gendering the feelings of appreciation, gratitude and affec- 
tion, and as long as they are given gratuitously and without 
discrimination, are harmless. But as soon as they assume 
the appearance of prizes or rewards for some special merit, 
they do more harm than good in every case. They engen- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 265 

der vanity and conceit in the hearts of the recipients, and 
jealousy and bitterness among the rest. They are apt to 
substitute mercenary or ambitious motives for the genuine 
appreciation of, and love for, virtue and rightful action. 

Both praise and censure, should be bestowed moderately. 
Fulsome praise or cruel and cutting censure, especially if 
given before others, not only miss the mark, but, while the 
former surfeits, the latter estranges. 

The strongest incentives to discipline are love and confi- 
dence. These two almost omnipotent agents in education 
can not be bought, commanded, enjoined, or prescribed. 
They "work upon nacural principles," as President Heber C. 
Kimball used to say. 

Let the principle of honor be cultivated in every school 
and at every fireside, by example as well as by precept. Let 
that divine plant of the heart be nursed by love and confi- 
dence, parents and teachers becoming living object-lessons 
in this regard, and there will be no need for the adoption of 
many more emulative methods of discipline. 

No man can be considered faithful to his God that has not 
learned to be faithful to his fellow man. 

CONCLUSION. 

Instructions and suggestions in regard to discipline may 
regulate, systematize, and improve the disciplinary efforts of 
parents and teachers, but they cannot create discipline. It 
must be inborn. 

There are teachers whose first entrance into the school 
room impresses the pupils with the feeling that they have 
found a leader, whom to implicity follow would be to their 
best interests. It is not in any particular thing that he says 
or does, nor in a specially austere or stern countenance or 
haughty bearing, that he creates that impression; but it is in 
his eye, and in an indescribable something which the pupils 



266 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

intuitively recognize and which says to their inmost souls: 
"Come, follow me." This kind of a teacher always makes a 
success in the school room, even v/here others before him, 
of greater scholastic attainments, have most egregiously 
failed. 

This phenomenon can also be observed in many families. 
While disorder and confusion seem to prevail in some homes, 
others, far less favorably situated, perhaps, enjoy the bless- 
ings of peace, order, and happiness, because the beneficent 
influence of a controlling individuality is leading the way in 
the one, and the lack of it in the other produces the opposite 
results. 

My counsel in regard to this subject to all educators in 
school and at the fireside is: Strive to be yourself that which 
you desire your children or pupils to be. Discipline must 
originate within yourself. A well disciplined mind reveals 
itself through the eye, the voice and the whole ensemble of 
the individual. 

Loud vociferations and violent gesticulations only betray 
the mental weakness within, although they are often mistaken 
for energy and force. 

Speak more with your eyes than your mouth, tor children 
as well as adults understand a great deal better with their 
eyes than with their ears. 

Discipline, without the support of a well disciplined mind, 
but built upon all kinds of disciplinary contrivances, is but a 
fragile structure, and is bound to give way under any heavy 
strain just when its support would be the most needed. 




MODES AND METHODS OF ffiSTRUO- 

TIONS, 



All instructions, whether formal or incidental, in school 
or at the fireside, ought to have a two-fold aim, viz: to assist 
in the moral, intellectual, and spiritual growth of the individ- 
ual, and to contribute a proportionate share to the general 
good of humanity. 

Upon these two great aims depend not only the nature but 
also the very form of these instructions. 

It is generally supposed that the nature and form of in- 
structions in school are matters with which the fireside has 
no immediate concern. This erroneous view deprives, in too 
many instances, the school of the co-operation of its most 
valuable auxiliary, and leaves the home without a clear com- 
prehension of the mental development of its children. 

All principles underlying the operations of scholastic edu- 
cation, as for instance, regularity, promptness, order, con- 
centration of thought, attention, clear perception, applica- 
tion, obedience, and truthfulness, are those that alone can 
make domestic education successful. 



268 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

CHAPTER I. 



Modes of Recitation. 



Any assemblage of people, whether adults or children, in- 
telligent or ignorant, thrown together incidentally or 
gathered for a definite purpose, would be an unwieldy, in- 
coherent, and irresponsible body if some kind or form of 
procedure were not agreed upon and put into operation. 

This fact imperatively demands recognition in all educa- 
tional affairs, and is the cause of the adoption, of a variety ot 
forms, modes, and methods, by which the various aims and 
purposes of education are sought to be reached. 

PREPARATION. 

This requirement refers not only to students, as some may 
suppose, but includes teachers as well. It is presumed, of 
course, that every teacher has mastered the subject-matter of 
his curriculum long before he has entered upon the duties ot 
his calling, but that does not release him from the obligation 
of a thorough preparation in regard to the modes of its proper 
treatment before the respective classes, each one of them 
existing under different conditions and surrounded by differ- 
ent environments. Only careless or inexperienced teachers 
imagine that they can get along without special preparation. 
With increasing experience, teachers grow more careful in 
their preparations in order to avoid snags, embarrasments, 
and compromising exposures. 

Efficient teachers are getting into the habit of gathering, 
beforehand, material for illustration, ot discovering new 
points of presentation, and of arranging notes, diagrams, etc., 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 269 

so as to inspire in the minds of their pupils, confidence in the 
mastership of their teachers. All teachers should realize 
that their influence over their pupils is in exact proportion 
to the impression they are able to create in regard to their 
efficiency in their calling. 

Want of sufficient preparation may often place a teacher 
in unforeseen embarrassing situations to the delight of the 
"smart Alecks" who are found in almost every class. False 
pretentions can rarely hide the lack of genuine efficiency and 
in most cases prove very serious boomerangs. 

Recitations constitute the principal features of school work. 
Their mode of procedure should, therefore, be so thoroughly 
understood and carefully observed by teachers and pupils, 
that they may be compared with military tactics or to par- 
liamentary order observed in debating, judicial, and legisla- 
tive bodies. 

Preparation on the part of the pupils, and the ways of con- 
trolling it, have been the subjects of much controversy among 
teachers. 

The strongest incentives to the faithful performance of any 
duty are: comprehension of its rightfulness, honor, mutual 
confidence, and the cultivation of the proper use of free- 
agency. 

It has frequently been my custom to leave with the class 
the choice of the amount of preparation for the next recita- 
tion. For instance in arithmetic, the class would be asked, 
how many examples of the lesson explained they could work 
out for the next day. Some would say twelve, some six, or 
some, perhaps, only one. The least number proposed would 
be the required amount of preparation, but would not prevent 
any one from doing more, if any should so choose. But the 
amount voted by the class should be forthcoming by every 
student, or his honor would be forfeited; he is then placed 
under special supervision, until he redeems himself by con- 



2/0 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

duct demonstrating that in future his word can be depended 
on. 

Very touching incidents illustrative of the growing appre- 
ciation of the value of honor and trustworthiness could be 
here related out of the author's experience. 

Parents should consider the welfare of their children by 
pondering over the suggestions contained in the above lines 
and by applying those principles in the training ot their 
children. In so doing they not only will render to the school 
a much needed assistance, but will also elevate their own 
family circle to a higher level. 

The impression in the minds of the children that they can 
have, to a certain extent, a choice in their occupations, plays, 
or recreations, provided that they use them according to their 
promise, and that a failure in doing so would bring restric- 
tions upon them, will act as an incentive to right doing. 
Mere ordering about, scolding, coaxing, or promises of re- 
ward are lacking the elevating tendency, which the con- 
sciousness of free choice with a corresponding sense of re- 
sponsibility exercises. 

Figuratively speaking, the length of the rope of discretion- 
ary action should be measured out to children in proportion 
to their moral, intellectual, and spiritual capacities. To cul- 
tivate the latter to the highest degree of development is the 
ultimate aim of all true education. 

It is a lamentable fact, however, that, as far as domestic 
education is concerned, only two extremes seem to be under- 
stood by a great portion of the people. One class of parents 
are in the habit of enforcing an implicit obedience to even 
arbitrary commands regardless of the feelings, capacities, 
and real interests of their children. Such a course will turn 
children of weak will-power into characterless individuals, 
helpless when thrown upon their own resources, and of slavish 
and cringing subserviency to stronger minds. Children of 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 2/1 

stronger will-power under such treatment will nurse resent- 
ment instead of affectionate gratitude in their hearts, may 
often break out into open defiance, and finally wind up with 
incurable estrangement. There are other parents who suffer 
their children to have their own way in almost everything. 
Restriction and firm but gentle guidance is neglected either 
through weakness or through mistaken notions in regard to 
free agency. This miserable mode of treating children is 
what is commonly designated by the term oi spoiling cJiildrcn. 
A spoiled child, of whatever disposition or capacity, scarcely 
ever amounts to much in practical life while many of them 
fall victims to unrestrained evil inclinations and temptations. 
Misspent lives, poverty, misery, disgrace, jails, and the 
gallows, are too frequently the harvest of such faulty sow- 
ing. 

STANDING ORDER OF PROCEDURE IN CLASS WORK. 

Regularity and precision is the first requisite for successful 
class work. Every pupil ought to be able to gauge his time 
and work during recitation as well as during study, by the 
clock, knowing that the change of classes will occur with the 
minute according to the daily program, and be ready with 
books and utensils at the given signal. Any drill exercises 
at the beginning of the term or of the school year to establish 
such a precision is just so much time gained for the whole 
school and so much confusion and noise prevented. 

Aware of the fact that all bustle and disorder have a ten- 
dency to confuse the mind, many teachers are adopting a 
marching order, often directed by a musical accompaniment, 
for the students going to and coming from their recitations, 
which procedure is much to be commended, especially in the 
lower grades of scholastic life. This mode disciplines the 
pupils in the observance of order, from which, in later life, 
they will not be able to deviate. 



272 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Where no special recitation rooms, or reserved seats in the 
class room are at the teacher's command, he should arrange 
his recitations so as to at least avoid the mixing of classes, 
that is to say, that none but members of the reciting class 
should sit or stand together. 

Especially in the higher and intermediate grades, the rule 
should hold good, that whatever can be done by students 
should never be done by the teacher, unless it be done by 
way of illustration. Hence the monitorial system, already 
spoken of, finds, in the application of this rule, a wide scope 
of usefulness. 

The various orders of procedure for the different kinds of 
recitations should be fully understood by every pupil, and 
carefully maintained by the teacher. This principle culti- 
vates consistency in the pupils and assists them in learning 
to do things systematically. 

The order of recitations generally consists in: i. Rollcall; 
2, Report of preparation; 3, Review of preceding lesson; 4, 
New subject; 5, Giving preparation for next recitation and 
class record. 

Rollcall, 

Whether this part of the recitation is done by the teacher 
himself or by a class senior, its record must be reliable, as an 
unreliable record is like an unreliable account in book-keep- 
ing, worse than none at all; it is misleading. The record 
should indicate not only the full list of names of the members 
of the class, date of entrance, transfer, or discontinuance, but 
also regularity of attendance and class standing, thus consti- 
tuting a complete record of reference. 

Teachers of large classes are often under the necessity, in 
order to save time, of resorting to various contrivances in the 
matter of rollcall. Some call the roll by numbers instead of 
by names, while others divide their classes into sections to 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 273 

be reported by seniors, and others again take their notes 
from rising votes. The choice from among these various 
forms of procedure rests with the individual teacher in small 
schools, but in schools of the graded system with several 
teachers, the matter ought to be harmoniously conducted 
according to the decision of the principal and faculty. 

The modes of conducting reviews of preceding lessons 
depend upon a variety of conditions, and care should be taken 
that the ver3'' appearance of partiality or arbitrariness be 
avoided by the teacher. The names of students may be 
placed in a box to be drawn by the teacher or senior, or the 
hand method may be adopted. The modes of answering in 
concert or in a promiscuous way, however, are the least sat- 
isfactory of all. There is no mode or method in any kind of 
catechization that would cover the ground in all cases. 

Preparations in writing are the best evidences of the work 
required having been done completel)'^, and their inspection 
need not consume much time, if proper disciplinary arrange- 
ments in regard to it have been made. 

The rule, that there should be a place and time for every- 
thing, is an embodiment of the principle of systematizing, 
and is applicable to domestic education as well. Every child 
will owe an everlasting debt of gratitude to his parents who 
have trained him in the attainment of the incalculable advan- 
tages of such a systematic education. The exercise of self- 
denial, perseverance, and good judgment, together with an 
unfaltering faith in divine support in this course will be re- 
paid a thousand-fold by the happiness which well-trained and 
rightly developed children bring to their parents' hearts, and 
by the honor to their father's name. 

RULES OF CATECHIZATION. 

The difference between an amateur and a professional 
teacher is in no instance more apparent than in the mode of 



274 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

catechization, or the process of conducting questions and 
answers. 

As this mode of teaching constitutes, especially in the 
lower and intermediate grades, a great and important part of 
instruction, a consideration of its leading features the more 
deserves a place in this treatise, and parents also may derive 
from the adoption of some of these rules, much benefit in the 
training ot their children. 

The most prominent rules of catechization may be classi- 
fied under the heads of: Spirit, Subject-matter, and Form. 

hi Regard to Spirit, 

1. Be Even Tempered. Any interrogatory exercise con- 
ducted in an angry, irritable, or threatening spirit, shown by 
looks, gestures, voice, or words, has a tendency to confuse 
or frighten the minds of the pupils and to place them at a 
disadvantage, by disconcerting them in their thoughts and 
feelings. Much wrong is often done to children in school 
and at home by such injudicious proceedings. Confused 
answers, unpremediated lies, or unconquerable silence; 
taken either for ignorance, wickedness, or willful stubborn- 
ness, are the results of mere fright. By exhibiting a better 
temper, teachers or parents might arrive at far more satisfac- 
tory results. 

2. Be Impartial. The impartial distribution of questions 
among the pupils, so that none of them are called upon to 
answer a number of questions as long as there are others that 
have no attention paid to them, is one of the most effective 
incentives to attention, emulation, and application. 

There are teachers that have favorites among the pupils, 
for whose sake they often make unjust discrimination to the 
neglect of others, either for the purpose of gaining favor with 
parents of prominent social standing, or of training them for 
public exhibitions, as circus riders train parade horses. Such 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 275 

a course is almost cn'miiial and should meet severe censure 
whenever noticed. 

Discrimination in this respect between children in the fam- 
ily circle, giving the encouraging smile to one, and the cold 
tone of indifference to another, is so heartless that it is to be 
hoped, some recording angel will take note of it, to be 
brought forth in the day "when the books shall be opened." 

3. Be Patient. Many teachers and parents are forgetful 
of the fact that the mental faculties of children do not operate 
with as much quickness and precision as those of maturer 
persons. Any show of impatience on the part of educators, 
therefore, increases the nervousness of the children, making 
the giving of a correct answer still more difficult. By chang- 
ing the wording of the question, or presenting the idea from 
a point more familiar to the child, the answer might be ob- 
tained more readily. The fable of the man intercepting with 
his finger the march of ants across his table and forcing them 
by this procedure to get at a lump of sugar placed at a con- 
venient distance, may illustrate the principle involved under 
this heading. 

4. Be considei-ate of the feelings of the children. Only 
such teachers and parents can be considered educators who 
are capable of descending, so to speak, into the realm of child- 
life, and of feeling the pulsations of the young hearts. A 
haughty and pompus style of interrogation produces estrange- 
ment, is often ridiculous, and mostly an evidence of super- 
ficiality. A sarcastic style of questioning, often mistaken 
for ingenuity, causes resentment in the hearts of pupils, and 
often inflicts wounds deeper than was intended. In the lat- 
ter cases justice may sometimes demand even a humiliating 
apology. 

In Regard to Stibject Matter. 

5. Put only legitimate and appropriate questions. Text- 



2/6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

books are generally very careful as regards the language and 
and the choice of subject-matter for their respective grades. 
This course should furnish teachers and parents a key to the 
kind of interrogatories that they should use in their inter- 
course with children. If the style of language adopted or 
the subject presented be above the comprehension of the 
pupils, it is noc only a sign of bad judgment and ludicrous 
vanity on the part of the teacher, but also a useless and 
perplexing waste of time and effort in regard to the 
pupils. 

Questions, on the other hand, that are in language or sub- 
ject-matter below the mental standard of the pupils, are in- 
sipid and vapid, and may even be insulting to their intelli- 
gence. The introduction of ideas foreign to the subject under 
consideration, or for the comprehension of which the minds 
of the pupils have not been sufficiently prepared, causes con- 
fusion, weakens the power of concentrativeness, and engen- 
ders superficiality. Besides these evil effects, such an arbitrary 
and incoherent course destroys confidence in both teacher 
and lesson. 

6. Ask reflective rather than mere '}neinorative questions. 
All questions with their answers are either memorative or 
reflective. The former call only memory or recollection in- 
to activity, which faculties require the least mental effort 
and are, therefore, inferior in value to the higher qualities of 
the mind, as for instance, observation, judgment, and reason. 
In some studies, such as geography, history, etc., memora- 
tive questions may occupy a prominent but by no means an 
excluse part in catechization. Careful teachers always en- 
deavor to reduce mere memorative questions to the lowest 
possible minimum, in as much as reflective questions will call 
the higher mental qualities of the pupils into requisition. 

7. Be thorough. The old saying, that a little knowledge 
is a dangerous thing, indicates the danger-line, separating 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 277 

solid knowledge from superficiality. What is worth learning 
or doing, is worth learning or doing well. 

After having presented the subject in question in a suffici- 
ently clear and thorough manner, teachers should review the 
subject by a series of well-prepared questions, covering either 
the entire ground, or consisting ot such tests as would 
evidence a careful comprehension of the subject. Every 
experienced teacher and conscientious parent encourages the 
asking of legitimate questions, that is, such as have a bear- 
ing on the subject under consideration. Such a question on 
the part of children is equal to a great many good answers, 
as it gives evidence of self-activity. 

To confine himself to the set of questions given in some 
text-books would be a "testimonium paupertatis," (evidence 
of mental poverty) on the part of any teacher. Such ques- 
tions should only show hoiv but not ivhat to ask. But even 
some text-book questions should not, by any means, be taken 
as patterns. 

/;/ Regard to Form. 

8. Let every question and every ansiver be a complete sen- 
tence. As far as teachers and parents are concerned, this in- 
junction is made for the sake of making them set a good ex- 
ample. Children and pupils, however, are habituated, by 
this course, in expressing themselves in a comprehensive 
manner, in arranging their ideas in proper order, \\\ using 
correct language, and in showing good manners. 

This mode of expression should be insisted upon not only 
in regular lessons but also in common conversation. 

9. Use as mncJi as possible simple or very short complex 
questions^ and avoid compound sentences in questioning . En- 
courage, hoxvever, children to anstver in any grammatical 
form they can. 

The form of questions should always be pointed, concise, 



278 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

and clear, bringing the hammer on the nail as it were, so that 
the minds of the children be not confused by the introduc- 
tion ot minor points, phrases, or clauses. The rule of "one 
point at a time" strengthens concentrativeness, observation, 
and self-confidence in the young minds, while a "too much" 
confuses, discourages, and acts upon a student like a too 
heavy burden upon a camel. The animal refuses to rise when 
over-loaded. 

Children should be encouraged to answer in their own 
language in preference to giving answers learned from a book. 
Such answers may not be as concise or logical, but they 
evidence original reflections of great value, while "book an- 
swers" could be learned even by parrots and magpies. 

10. Ask no direct questions except for disciplinary pur- 
poses. 

Every proposition must have at least one subject and 
one predicate. Every proposition can be put into an inter- 
rogative form. Either the subject or the predicate, or the 
object, if there is one, can be made the point for the answer. 
A direct question has all these parts already, and leaves to 
the pupil only the choice between "yes" and "no," which, in 
most cases, will be given by guess. Guessing is neither 
thinking nor knowing. Illustration: Instead of asking "Did 
Christopher Columbus discover America?" Better ask: "Who 
discovered America.?" or -'What do you know of Christopher 
Columbus.''" 

Even some professedly educational text-books violate this 
simple rule. 

11. Be consecutive. Object-lessons ought to be the pro- 
totype of all catechetical exercises. In these object-lessons, 
the next question is generally deducted from some point in 
the last given answer, with a view of preparing the way for 
the next question, and so on, until the end of the paragraph, 
the declarative sentences of which have merely been trans- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 279 

posed into the interrogative form of questions and answers. 
By this process pupils will be trained in the habit of think- 
ing consecutively, or of following a certain line of thought, 
instead of rambling around and among a variety of ideas 
without cohesion or logical connection. 

12. Repeat no ansivcrs no?' use expletives. Habit is like 
certain elements of nature. It is a benefit when used in the 
right direction, but may prove ot great disadvantage in the 
wrong place. The latter point is exemplified in the present 
instance. 

As soon as a teacher contracts the pernicious habit of re- 
peating the answers of his students or of using some kind of 
expletives, as "just so," "right," "correct," "good," or some 
other meaningless grunt or snort, nothing short of some yet 
to be invented kind ot "Keeley cure" can break him of it. 

Not only is this absurd habit without use and meaning, 
but it is reprehensible on disciplinary grounds, inasmuch as 
it dispenses with the necessity of the students paying close 
attention to the answers given by their fellow-students. The 
teacher is representing them anyway, at least in substance, 
and the next question will, therefore, be understood. To 
such habits many teachers are often indebted for not very 
flattering nick-names given them by their pupils. 

13. Be natural. Affectation of any kind is a near relative 
to hypocrisy, and proves to an educator, whether in school 
or at the fireside, a slippery path to walk in. It does not 
stand the wash, nor the wear and tear of work and continu- 
ous contact. Let every teacher try to be genuine, himself, 
his better-self, striving to approach nearer and nearer to his 
ideal. Every teacher must have an ideal it he wants to be a 
true educator. Genuine in bearing, voice, language, gest- 
ures, manners, noble and pure in principle; and having con- 
stantly before him the fear of the Lord, which is the begin- 
ning of wisdom. 



28o SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

14. Be correct in grammar, pro7iunciatio7t, and enunciatioji. 
Although it is not necessary that every teacher should be a 
rhetorician or elocutionist, it is essential that he should set 
an example in his grammar, pronunciation, and enunciation. 
As ignorance or carelessness in regard to the first two, coarse- 
ness, feebleness, or impediment in the last will detract from 
his influence, lessen his authority, and cause the same faults 
to grow up among his pupils, and may often tend to shape 
the habits, in this respect, of a whole community. 

In all doubtful cases, careful and constant consultation of 
dictionaries, grammars, and works on elocution, are essential 
requisites to the attainment of these ends. 

Answers with faulty grammar, pronunciation, and enunci- 
ation should be repeated by the students as corrected. 

15. Avoid viannerisnis. Every educator, whether in the 
school or at the fireside, ought to be extremely watchful 
over himself, that no peculiar v/ords, phrases, exclamations, 
gestures, or facial expressions, insignificant and harmless, 
perhaps, in themselves at first, may become by frequent 
repetition habitual and stereotyped. Children and young 
people generally are very apt to observe such peculiarities 
and mimic them in an extravagant manner to the delight of 
their fellows but to the detriment of- their teacher. 

Most of us can recall from among the reminiscences of our 
school or college days, or our everyday life, such ludicrous 
mannerisms of teachers, professors, and other people, impres- 
sions that seem to stick to the memory with greater tenac- 
ity than many other and more excellent points of those 
worthies. 

The worst species, however, of mannerism is the imitative 
one. This kind can not even claim the prestige of origin- 
ality, nor the excuse of unconscious or ungovernable habit, 
it is affectation pure and simple. Some superficial mind, for 
instance, has noticed a certain striking peculiarity in a sue- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 28 1 

cessful educator, and thinking that the adoption of that habit 
will assist him in achieving siiniliar success, imitates it. But 
what might have been quite natural and even dignified in 
the original, may prove disastrously ridiculous or disgusting 
in the imitator. A German proverb causticly expresses this 
point in these words: 

"Wie er sich raeuspert und wie er spuckt, 
Das hat er ihm gluecklich abegeguckt." 

Freely translated into English it might run about thus: 

How he clears his throat and how he spits, 
He imitates, no matter how it fits. 

SPECIAL METHODS OF RECITATION. 

Aside from the principal rules of catechization named 
above, there is a wide latitude given for the individuality of 
the teacher, the capacities of the pupils, and the environments 
of the school in general. These various considerations cause 
the adoption of a variety of minor points in the intercourse 
with pupils, subject to modifications as time and change of 
conditions may require. 

It will not be out of place to repeat here the caution, that 
teachers must guard themselves against superficial experi- 
mentalism on the one hand, and stereotyped pedantry on the 
other. The old Romans had a verse illustrating this caution 
very appropriately: 

*'Incidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Charybdim." 
(He into the Scylla falls who would avoid the Charyb- 
dis.) 
or as an English proverb has it: 

'•Out of the frying pan into the fire." 

Even domestic education can not afford to remain unmind- 
ful of these suggestions regarding the modes and methods of 



282 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

catechization, inasmuch as all of them are applicable more or 
less to the training of children in the family circle. Parents 
will realize from their adoption beneficial results which could 
not be obtained by any other means. 



CHAPTER II. 



Special Associations and Clubs. 



The organization of associations and clubs for young peo- 
ple should be encouraged under proper restrictions and 
judicious supervision. There are two strong reasons sup- 
porting this proposition. 

The first one is, that man is gregarious in his nature and 
needs the stimulus of association for the development of his 
mental and moral faculties. The leading idea underlying 
Jean Jacques Rousseau's "Emil," is therefore an unpsycho- 
logical extravaganza. 

People living tor some length of time in isolated places 
without an opportunity of mingling with neighbors or of 
occasionally joining in public assemblies, are apt to grow 
narrow in their ideas, selfish in their feelings, and morose in 
their dispositions. But as the tendency of the human mind 
for intercourse with others can never be entirely stifled, it 
breaks out occasionally in riotous hilariousness or wild dissi- 
pation, to relapse again into its misanthropic monotony. 
There was a tempest, it blew over, but left no blessing be- 
hind, as the gentle dew or rain and sunshine would do. 

The sturdy backwoodsmen, mountaineers, and pioneers ot 
frontier life, may deserve all the encomiums bestowed upon 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 283 

them in books, but their children, if not early rescued from 
such isolation, are to be pitied indeed. They are destined 
to inherit all the faults but only a few of the virtues of their 
progenitors. 

The other reason for the advocacy of associations for young 
people is the cultivation of the principle of self-effort, which 
finds in such societies its widest scope. 

The satisfaction which adults and children alike feel in the 
results achieved by their own efforts, is one of the strongest 
incentives to progress. Opportunities for realizing this sen- 
sation should be provided for the youth in scholastic and 
domestic education whenever circumstances will permit. 

Tutelage, when carried too far, may often prove an ob- 
structive rather than a progressive agent in education, and 
should receive such modifications as the growing intellectual 
and moral capacities, and increasing necessities of the rising 
generation demand. Tutelage thus gradually assumes an 
advisory character, lengthening the rope as it were, until the 
character of the charge has become established and is capa- 
ble of entering upon the stage of self-activity with its corres- 
ponding responsibility. 

One of the means for obtaining this desirable object is the 
establishment of associations for intellectual, scientific, liter- 
ary, artistic, technical, and recreative purposes. 

Such organizations, however, should be formed only with 
the sanction and advice, and under the general supervision of 
either ecclesiastic, scholastic, or domestic authorities. Other- 
wise there would be no guarantee that the impetuosity, in- 
experience, and impulsiveness of youth, may not open the 
door to "by and forbidden paths. " 

DEBATING SOCIETIES. 

The advocates of such societies claim for them the advan- 
tage of a thorough training in parliamentary usage, an ac- 



284 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

quaintance with which is essential for every citizen in a re- 
publican country like ours. 

Without entering upon a lengthy discussion of this propo- 
sition, the author here enters his dissent from and protest 
against the whole principle of debating and debating soci- 
eties, on the ground that all debating engenders the spirit 
of sophistry, and thereby blunts the love and regard for 
truth. 

The contestants in these debating societies are generally 
arrayed on the affirmative and the negative side of the ques- 
tion, regardless of their own sentiment on the subject, but 
are expected to use all the logic, evidence, and eloquence at 
their command to gain the victory for their side. 

Such contests do not at all determine on which side the 
truth or the right is, but only which side has the smartest 
debaters. It is, therefore, a mere mental prizefight, 
differing from the ring only in the kind of weapons em- 
ployed. 

The technical ability for discussion gained by such train- 
ing is too dearly paid for with the loss of that stern and un- 
compromising regard for truth and integrity that should 
characterize every American citizen, and above all a Latter- 
day Saint. 

True education lifts up its voice of warning against this 
growing evil, and puts forth its efforts to rectify it. School 
and fireside, these important safeguards of the free institu- 
tions ot our country and the purity of our people, must unite 
in this mission to bring about a reform. 

The acquaintance with all the essential points, in parlia- 
mentary usage can be obtained by attendance at a few regu- 
larly conducted public meetings, where the realities, interests, 
and responsibilities of citizenship are better educators than 
the sham battles of debating- societies. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 285 

POLVSOPHICAL OR STUDENTS' SOCIETIES. 

The Church schools among the Latter-day Saints have 
recognized from their commencement the tendency of special 
organization toward self-effort among the students. Some 
have organized, therefore, such societies, under various 
names, but conducted according to the same principles and 
in general, the same plan. 

The students choose their own ofificers, with the exception 
of the presiding officer, who receives his appointment from 
the faculty, and is accepted by the vote of the members ot 
the society, The sessions of these societies are opened and 
closed by prayer. Questions and their answers are of scien- 
tific, literary, theological, or general interest; lectures, 
essays, recitations, musical performances, with explanatory 
discussions, strictly excluding all debating, constitute the 
programs. There is order, peace, good fellowship, and sub- 
stantial progress in lieu of the threshing of empty straw in 
debating societies. 

CLUBS FOR RECREATION. 

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," is an old 
but true saying. Play and recreation are more than mere 
diversions, they are recuperative requisites in the process of 
physical, intellectual, and moral development of man. Hence 
clubs for baseball, or for other kinds of healthy and invigora- 
ting sports among young people, ought not to be objected 
to, as long as indulgence in them does not interfere with 
regular duties, and the entrance of obnoxious elements is 
sufficiently guarded against. 

The excesses to which some of these sports are carried at 
some universities, colleges, and high schools, are most repre- 
hensible on account of their demoralizing tendencies; and 
the faculties of these institutions, assisted by the sentiments 



286 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

of the enlightened public at large, should unite in re- 
placing these vulgarities by more refining and elevating 
sports. 

The so-called "college yells" are exhibitions of coarseness 
unworthy of educational institutions, and the authorities in 
our Church school organizations discountenance them most 
emphatically. 

SECRET SOCIETIES. 

As such societies by their very name indicate that they 
shun the light of day, either on account of the object to be 
attained or of the modus operandi by which they carry on 
their work, the educational system of the Latter-day Saints 
regards them as dangerous in any form. No true Latter-day 
Saint, whether parent, teacher, student, or citizen, can coun- 
tenance or join any of them without acting inconsistently 
with his religious principles. 



CHAPTER IIL 



Text and Reference Books. 



STUDENTS PROPERTY. 

The more efficient a workman is in his profession, the 
more care does he take of his tools. This rule holds good 
with teachers and students in school, and parents and 
children at home. Teachers and parents will be richly 
recompensated, right from the start, for all the pains they 
take in training the youth to habits of order and cleanli- 
ness. The training, if effectual, must commence, how- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 287 

ever, with the educator himself. A teacher's desk in dis- 
order is a general permit for all the pupils to be disorderly 
likewise. 

So, a disorderly home may be easily recognized by the 
slovenly appearance of certain children, day after day, as 
they enter the school room. 

But it is not only the appearance but also the use of text 
and reference books that is a matter of great importance in 
school. Here also it is the teacher that has to lead out and 
set the proper example. It is a poor teacher that is always 
seen before the class with a text book in his hand, asking 
questions from it, and following it line by line. Such a course 
impresses the pupil with the idea that a text-book is an in- 
fallible authority, and that what is not said therein on the 
respective subject is not worth knowing: like that ancient 
caliph who ordered all the books of the celebrated library of 
Alexandria to be burned; for, said he, if things are written in 
them that are not in the Koran, they are worthless, and if 
they contain only what is in the Koran, they are superfluous. 
Teachers ought to show that they know and understand the 
subject-matter of the lesson, aside from the text-book, and 
from this example the pupils will likewise learn to think in- 
dependently. 

SCHOOL PROPERTY. 

The principle that any one careless with his own. ought 
never be trusted with things belonging to others, finds an 
illustration in almost every school. If a desk has been de- 
spoiled by whittling, carving, or scribbling, if walls are de- 
faced by writing or drawing, if greunds are ruined by the 
destruction of trees, shrubs, or ornaments, the offenders can 
be found in nine cases out of ten from among the pupils no- 
toriously careless with their own things. 

It becomes an urgent duty with every parent and teacher 



288 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

to try and reform such refractory children by every means in 
their, power, as otherwise such children may grow up unfit 
for any public trust. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Note Books and Journals. 



The principle involved in the keeping of note books and 
journals is overlooked by a great many teachers, parents, and 
the general public. 

It is not only a question of order and cleanliness which 
confronts us in this connection, but that of conscientiousness 
and reliability, inasmuch as these two virtues depend largely 
for their development and cultivation upon the manner of 
keeping these papers. 

Both are records, the note book, of school work, the journal 
mostly of individual incidents and reflections. The former 
is an indispensable requisite of school work, and should be 
kept according to instructions and subject to inspection by 
the teacher; the latter is a voluntary work and should be con- 
sidered sacred to the owner, except in very exceptional cases. 
Even parents should not, without urgent reasons, intrude 
upon the sanctity of the records belonging to their children. 
Any child, suflficiently advanced, should be taught to keep a 
journal. These journals, if conscientious and consecutive, 
are not only valuable memoranda for private reference, but 
they may constitute important contributions to the family 
record in after years; they are intellectual and moral bar- 
ometers. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 



289 



Note books are to the pupil what day books are to the 
man of business; and many a pupil has contracted in school 
solid business habits from the careful manner in which he 
has kept this record. 




STUDIES, 



All studies are either incidental or formal; incidental if 
attended to whenever an occasion presents itself or requires 
them, formal, when they constitute a regular course and have 
a place in the curriculum of the student. 



CHAPTER I. 



Incidental, 



These studies are of far greater importance and influence 
in the mental development of a student than is generally 
understood. They are, as it were, the "man and maid ser- 
vant" in the household>of scholastic, and especially domestic, 
education. Their chief requirements on the part of the stu- 
dent are elertness, promptness, and adaptability. 

Endowed with such characteristics, or earnestly bent upon 
cultivating them, a student will find that his indebtedness to 
the incidentals in his studies gradually begins not only to 
balance but even to outweigh the benefits derived from his 
formal studies. The stock of his knowledge has been 
greatly supplied by the results of his own researches and ex- 
perience. 

Anyone, that has attained to a degree of efficiency in his 
sphere of action, knows that what he has learned during his 
student-life or apprenticeship, gives him only pointers for the 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 291 

pursuit of that knowledge and expertness which constitute 
the mainsprings of his success. For the greater part he is 
indebted to observations and efforts, made outside the lines 
that his formal studies have marked out for him. 

Teachers and parents ought to keep in mind this incontro- 
vertible fact, and urge upon their charges the necessity for 
self-activity, self-investigation, and self-research, and culti- 
vate the spirit of inquiry within them. 

WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS. 

Disciplinary regulations based upon the principle of mental 
understanding are essential factors in domestic as well as 
in scholastic education. They occupy in both the place that 
laws do in the state. While it may not be necessary nor 
even desirable for the purposes of domestic education to have 
them there in writing, the school room demands a set of well- 
understood written regulations. • 

The best guarantees for the faithful observance of all such 
instructions are honor, love, and the fear of the Lord. For 
the observance of such regulations it has been my custom to 
place my students upon their ''Word of Honor' when enter- 
ing the Academy. (See regulations ol the B. Y. Academy, 
page 173.) A young man once asked me. what the Word of 
Honor meant. I answered him: "If I should give you my 
Word of Honor about anything, I would die before I would 
break it." He asked me no further questions on the subject. 
The other two incentives for the faithtul performance of 
such instructions, viz: love and the fear of the Lord, depend 
for their cultivation, so far as the school is concerned, upon 
the precepts' and example of the teacher. In domestic edu- 
cation, love and fear of the Lord ought to be the principal 
considerations. Honor will naturally grow of itself in such 
companionship. 

Notes kept by the students should not be confined to the 



292 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

instructions given by the teachers, but should comprise also, 
especially in the higher grades, original reflections, re- 
searches, and observations on such subjects as may be either 
connected with the lessons, or may have suggested them- 
selves to the minds of the student in his everyday life. 

Even children of the common school age should be taught 
to keep such notes, independent of their regular school les- 
sons. They should be induced to journalize them and so be- 
come habituated to keeping an autobiographical journal. Such 
journals are, as it were, moral and intellectual accounts for 
well regulated minds. 

QUESTIONS BY STUDENTS DURING RECITATION. 

In any class, questions on the subject under consideration, 
are always in order. Any sensible question put by a pupil 
to a teacher is more evidence of mental growth than many 
good answers, as such questions reflect the process of original 
thought. However, care should be taken in distinguishing 
clearly between the spirit of inquiry and that of inquisitive- 
ness. The tormer prompts a pupil to seek sincerely for in- 
formation, while the latter characterizes the "smart Aleck," 
who puts forth a quizzical question or remark for the sake of 
raising a laugh or for embarrassing the teacher. 

To get angry or show embarrassment in such cases would 
be an open acknowledgment of defeat. To turn the point 
against the offender, if possible, is generally sufficient to pre- 
vent any recurrence of the trick. 

In the family circle, parental authority and filial love and 
respect should be sufficient safeguards against any such im- 
proprieties. 

REPORTS OF PRIVATE READINGS AND STUDIES. 

To encourage such reports, whether given in the regular 
routine of lessons and in accordance with them, or privately 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 293 

and voluntarily on any legitimate subject, is one of the most 
effective incentives to self-activity, and often opens to the 
teacher unexpected visits of the inner life of his pupils. He 
discovers capacities, desires, feelings, aspirations, and in- 
clinations, which without such confidential reports, might 
have remained uncultivated, undirected, or unchecked, as the 
case may be. 

Many leading characters in science, literature, art, and 
other spheres of thought and activity, owe their first step to 
their prominence, to such incidental discoveries. Without 
these fortunate incidents these distinguished persons might 
have remained in obscurity and the world be deprived of the 
benefits of their achievements. 

Parents especially should make it a point to draw their 
children on, cultivate their confidence, and thus be able to 
magnify their heaven-appointed guardianship. 



CHAPTER n. 



Formal, 



GRADING. 



Formal studies comprise the curriculum of a school. In 
the lower grades, option in the selection of studies should be 
put under careful limitation, inasmuch as children never, and 
parents seldom, possess the necessary knowledge or judg- 
ment in regard to studies essential or optional. Of course 
there are cases of physical inability, or of other conditions 
beyond the control of parents, teachers, or pupils, that may 
make it expedient to even excuse a pupil from some essential 



294 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

studies, but such cases should be thoroughly investigated be- 
fore the exception is made. 

Options, always subject to the advice and direction of the 
teacher, should be extended to students of higher grades in 
proportion to the maturity of their intelligence and with a 
view to their respective vocation in life. Parents and 
teachers, however, should act in such matters with mutual 
understanding and in perfect harmony, as only by these con- 
ditions the greatest possible benefits can be obtained. 

Kin derga rteii . 

The Kindergarten movement in Utah is almost phenom- 
enal. Salt Lake City started it several years ago in a 
sporadic way. That it did not immediately succeed was be- 
cause it lacked the support of united action and systematic 
organization. The benefits arising from these attempts be- 
came so manifest, however, that the authorities of the public, 
as well as of denominational and private schools, commenced 
adopting the system as an essential part of their curriculum. 
It is only a question of a comparatively short time before its 
principles and methods will be adopted even in schools that 
are not so fortunate as to be able to organize a special class 
or department for it. 

Kindergartens were introduced in Utah by Kindergar- 
teners from the East. It is to the credit of the Brigham 
Young Academy, however, to have started the first Kinder- 
garten training school in Utah, and to have issued certificates 
and diplomas to graduates in this course. The University 
of Utah and other educational institutions have since followed, 
and Kindergartens are now conducted by Utah trained teach- 
ers throughout the whole state. 

The General Superintendency and Board of the Deseret 
Sunday School Union, desirous of availing themselves of the 
advantages derived from the Kindergarten system, are en- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 295 

couraging the establishment of these classes, and in conse- 
quence, many leading Sunday schools in Zion have organ- 
ized Kindergartens which in most cases are conducted by 
graduates from the Normal Training school of the Brigham 
Young Academy. 

The rapidly increasing number of well-trained Kindergar- 
teners has a tendency to awaken among our people a greater 
appreciation of this beautiful mode of teaching. Facilities 
for its adoption will be sought and found, and the time is not 
far distant, when in every community of the saints, a Kin- 
dergarten will be considered an indispensable part of general 
as well as religious education. 

Kindergartens are designed as a preparatory step in the 
education of little children from three to six years of age. 
The mode of teaching consists ot frequent changes between 
talks, stories, songs, games, and table-work, so as not to be- 
come tedious or tiresome to the little ones, but to ensrasre 
their attention a sufificient length of time. 

This common mode of procedure is observable to every 
casual visitor. He will notice the interest and delight of the 
children in the subiect just before them, and the surprising 
skill they manifest in their little tasks. 

But all these items are not the main purposes to be 
achieved. They are only the means toward an end. There 
is not a feature in all these exercises that is not intended to 
prepare for the attainment of that end, although the little 
ones are not aware of it. 

Underlying all these various exercises, which are used to 
engage the childrens' attention for the time being, are prin- 
ciples which the teacher never loses sight of for one moment. 
The teacher endeavors to cultivate within the children the 
faculties of observation, imagination, memory, taste, inven- 
tion, etc., and she tries to improve the child's moral sensi- 
bilities, not neglecting at the same time, its physical devel- 
opment. 



296 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

And yet, even these motives are not the ultimate aim of the 
Kindergarten system. 

The performances of games, songs, table-work, etc., are 
the task, or rather the play-work of the children; the cultiva- 
tion cf the physical, mental, and spiritual faculties are the 
motives of the teachers; but the development of the character 
is the ultimate aim of the whole system. 

Character is, so to speak, the timber that man is made of. 
Accomplishments of every kind, excellence in science, art, 
mechanism, or any other sphere of action, cannot atone for 
its deficiencies; and its judicious training, therefore, cannot 
be commenced too soon. 

The fireside, the mother's knee, the father's example, 
should be the proper starting points for such a training; but 
we all know what conditions and influences too often interfere 
with the execution of so desirable a program. The Kinder- 
garten is intended to supply the want. 

The Kindergarten system cultivates within the child the 
capacity for suitable self-entertainment, develops the desire 
for self-effort, furnishes opportunities for discovering the 
delight of producing or discovering something useful or 
beautiful, fosters refinement, teaches good manners, shows 
how to learn, and trains in discipline. 

It is not the kind nor the amount of work in which the 
children may be engaged that constitutes the educational 
feature of the work. The value of all these exercises consists 
in the spirit which the children put into their work and the 
delight they experience in showing their little achievements 
to those whom they love. These two considerations point 
to the mainspring of all human activity, whether manifesting 
themselves in the simple exercises of Kindergarten work, or 
in guiding the actions by which the weal and woe of whole 
nations may be influenced. It is the character of the actor 
that determines them all. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 297 

The Kindergarten S3^stem has, therefore, made child-study 
a prominent element of education, domestic, scholastic, 
secular, or religious. None of these provinces in the great 
republic of education can dispense with it. A teacher's 
efficiency depends upon the attention he has bestowed upon 
this subject, and a parent's hopes may be realized or dis- 
carded in proportion to his compliance with its requirements. 

School authorities, as well as the people in general, are 
rapidly awakening to the realization of the fact, that all efforts 
made and all means expended for the establishment of Kin- 
dergartens, are investments yielding returns beyond calcula- 
tion; and that the disciples of Froebel are quietly engaged in 
remodeling the very fundamental principles of modern 
education. 

Primary Editcatioji. 

This term, if applied exclusively to the work of the school, 
is a misnomer. There is a great deal of education, good, 
bad, and indifferent, preceding the entrance of a little child 
into the school room. The nature of this previous education 
is such as to make it a potent factor for or against the efforts 
of the teacher. Indeed, it modifies and influences the re- 
sults of his work to a greater extent than many people are 
aware. 

By the time the child enters school, its faculties have 
emerged from their embryonic state into one of great activity. 
The five senses are on the alert for anything that arouses 
curiosity or excites inclination; imagination is busy with its 
kaleidoscopic combinations; memory is storing up impres- 
sions destined to play an important part in the forming of 
the future character; recollection is struggling with the en- 
tanglements of fancy and reality; understanding is trying to 
establish a closer acquaintance with environments; and reason 
shows its growing vitality by intuitive inferences, and by 
jumping impulsively at bizarre conclusions. 



2 98 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

The co-ordination and subordination of the material, thus 
presenting itself for primary education, has become a matter 
of consideration only since the days of Froebel. The Kinder- 
garten system is rapidly gaining recognition as an essential 
concomitant of primary education, attending on the little 
ones, so to speak, in the ante-chamber of scholastic educa- 
tion. 

Thus systematically prepared, children enter upon the 
pursuits of v/hat is commonly understood as "Primary Edu- 
cation." 

Primary, in contradistinction to secondary education, com- 
prises that kind of instruction and training which is intended 
to furnish every pupil those physical, intellectual, moral, and 
spiritual acquirements which might be said to constitute the 
indispensable "stock in trade" of every useful member of a 
civilized community. 

The chances for the attainment of such an education should 
be open to all children and not be left to depend upon the 
whims or financial abilities of individuals. Hence, the system 
of free schools with compulsory attendance for primary edu- 
cation, with certain safeguards thrown around it, is one of 
the glories of our civilization. 

The very judicious arrangement of >the so-called "eight 
grades," comprises the extent of primary education. Its 
nature, methods, aims, and results should engage the earnest 
solicitude of school authorities, educators, and parents; for in 
it are contained not only the fundamental elements of all 
education, but also the most favorable opportunities for unit- 
ing domestic and scholastic education to the attainment of a 
common end. 

Praiseworthy as are all the efforts made by school author- 
ities, teachers, and people generally, in order to advance the 
cause of primary education, there appear occasionally 
elements and influences in this onward movement which 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 299 

have to be counteracted by the adoption of conservative 
methods. 

While in some localities the common schools are far below 
the average standard, there is manifesting itself in others a 
tendency to overdo the thing. 

The main object of primary education is the preparation 
ot the pupils for the requirements of practical life: as members 
of the human family, as citizens of the state, and as children 
of God. These aims circumscribe the whole work of a pri- 
mary teacher. In this work he is justified in expecting to 
be assisted by the family circle, inasmuch as the school 
should endeavor to keep, as it were, in elbow-feeling with the 
fireside. 

There is, however, a professional vernacular cultivated by 
many educators, that shows too plainly a great effort to talk 
"learnedly" and of dressing the simplest ideas in high-sound- 
ing phrases. These are symptoms of vanity, sham, and 
superficiality. Bacon says that hunting for big words or 
phrases is the disease of knowledge. Psychology and Evolu- 
tion especially are the favorite sources from which words, 
phrases, and ideas are borrowed unceasingly in order to make 
a big show of learning. 

If these "word-hobbies" could remain confined to their de- 
votees, no great harm would be done, but, unfortunately, 
they have a tendency, like an epidemic, to become infectious 
among the whole fraternity of teachers and even penetrate 
and befog the school room. 

This last is the point where a protest should be entered 
against this infringement upon the simplicity, genuineness, 
and practicality of primary education. 

It is not, by any means, the intention of the author to de- 
preciate the efforts of modern education to lift primary edu- 
cation from the worn-out grooves of routine work and from 
mere pedantic lesson-giving to the higher plain of teaching 



300 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

according to the principles of rational child-study. But the 
sacredness of his calling enjoins upon every teacher the 
solemn duty to select carefully from among the ever-increas- 
ing multitude of psychological theories such ideas, and to 
clothe them in such language as may be in harmony with the 
essential characteristics of primary education, as mentioned 
above. 

The psychological craze, so prevalent of late, is affecting 
the minds of many teachers in the same manner that a nar- 
cotic acts upon its victims. As the latter often indulge in 
their favorite stimulants in preference to healthful and sub- 
stantial food, so some teachers try to substitute a high-flown 
style ot speech, and experiments of untried ideas and methods, 
for the conscientious and careful course which the conserva- 
tism of primary education so peremptorily demands. The 
consequence of all this is a dissatisfaction with their lot and 
a distaste for their legitimate work, which are effecting so 
many teachers. But, what, think you, is the effect of this 
condition of the teachers' minds upon their pupils.-* 

Secondary Education. 

The school system of our state has been very appropriate- 
ly compared to a pyramid resting upon the broad basis of 
primary education and gradually tapering through the inter- 
mediate stages of high school work toward the collegiate 
courses as the apex. The various denominational schools 
and schools for specific purposes, occupy places in the struc- 
ture according to the grade and nature of their studies. 

Pleasing as the geometrical symetry presented by this 
picture may be to the casual observer, there are, neverthe- 
less, many circumstances modifying the composition of the 
structure. The conditions of the people are not made to 
suit any particular educational scheme, but educational sys- 
tems have to accommodate themselves in a measure to the 
conditions of a people. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 301 

The necessity for a higher education resting upon a basis 
of general education, broad enough to benefit all the children 
of the people, and made solid through the addition of sound 
moral and religious principles, was realized by President 
Brigham Young at the pioneer period of the saints in Utah. 
He it was who conceived the idea of a "University of Des- 
eret" with its chancellor and regency, to which authorities 
he confided the duty of further developmg the movement in 
accordance with the environments, necessities, and facilities 
of the time. 

This organization has been kept intact throughout all the 
changing scenes, vicissitudes, and obstacles of our history, 
waiting patiently for the gradually improving conditions of 
our primary education to prepare students in a suitable man- 
ner and in sufficient numbers for university work. To facil- 
itate this work of preparation, in fact to lead out in it and to 
meet it halfway, so to speak, the university itself started 
with preparatory or high school courses, until now the noble 
institution has reached the point at which real collegiate 
courses have been opened in several branches. This fortun- 
ate condition is still more enhanced by the labors of the 
Brigham Young Academy, at Provo, the Brigham Young 
College, at Logan, the Latter-day Saints' College, at Salt 
Lake City, the Agricultural College, at Logan, and several 
denominational schools in Utah, all of which have entered 
upon the grade of higher education. 

BRANCHES OF PRIMARY EDUCATION. 

The days of the three R's, that is ot " 'ritin'", "readin"', 
and " 'rithmetic", as the sum total of essentials in primary 
education, are past, although there may be some vestiges ot 
these primitive views still lingering in out-of-the-way places, 
like patches of snow hidden from the direct rays of the sun 
on mountain sides. 



302 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

It seems to be destined that new ideas and systems must 
pass through a series of vicissitudes. Just as the life and 
health of children are endangered by measles, whooping 
cough, and similar ailments, so primary education, ere it has 
quite emerged trom the pupa stage (of the three R's before 
alluded to), finds itself exposed to dangers arising from oppo- 
site modes of treatment. The complaint has been that the 
child was being starved. Now there is apprehension that it 
is being over-fed. 

The old latin proverb "Non multa sed multum," which 
means that true education does not consist in a great variety 
of studies but in their thoroughness, should become the 
motto of every teacher. It points out the conservative mean 
which is as free from old time fogyism on the one side, as it is 
from the "crazy quilt" methods of modern radicalism on the 
other. 

There are essential studies that constitute the fundamental 
elements of the educational edifice, and the degree of their 
thoroughness determines, to a greater or less extent, the 
nature and value of any future superstructure. 

Human beings, however, are not made after a uniform 
mould; there are also many different capacities, inclinations, 
environments, and influences to be taken into account, and 
parents and teachers should cultivate such powers of discern- 
ment as may furnish them the keys to these prophetic mani- 
festations. 

A recognition of the latent pov»^ers in childhood finds its 
expression in permitting the pupil to make a judicious choice 
from among the optional studies, pursuing them in addition 
to the regular curriculum, or even under certain conditions 
substituting them for studies considered more essential. 

Essential Studies. 
The kinds, aims, and methods of essential studies consti- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 303 

tute the groundwork of all primary scholastic education, and 
as such should find faithful and never-failing support in the 
home circle. Many parents have found out that in render- 
ing children all possible assistance in their studies they not 
only facilitate the progress of their sons and daughters, but 
derive much benefit themselves from so doing. "Docendo 
discimus," that is, by teaching we learn, has been demon- 
strated by such parents to be a fact. 

The essential studies comprising a complete primary course 
of scholastic education may be classified under five heads, 
viz: 'a, Theology and Ethics; /^ Language; c, Arithmetic, 
Elementary, including Elementary l^ook-keeping; <r/, Em- 
pirical studies; c, Arts. 

The aims of these various studies are of a special as well as 
of a general nature. A teacher aiming at nothing but at ad- 
vancing his pupils to a degree of efficiency within a specified 
time, may be an expert lesson-give?', but has no claim to the 
honored title of teacJicr. The latter looks upon every study 
as an untailing means toward the development of the mind, 
the cultivation of the character, and the attainment of man's 
ultimate destiny — -to become perfect as the Father in Heaven 
is perfect. 

Theology and Ethics. What with the jealousy exhibited 
by the various denominations toward one another, and the 
efforts of anti-religionists, the most essential factor in educa- 
tion is barred out from the public schools. Instead of gen- 
uine religious training, a conveniently attenuated system of 
ethics is offered as spiritual pabulum to the needy souls of 
childhood. Even opening and closing prayers have been 
denounced as unlawful in some localities. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recogniz- 
ing, as other denominations are also doing, this deplorable 
state of affairs, is engaged in building up within its own 
sphere an educational system which contemplates not only 



304 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

the introduction of theology as a branch of the regular cur- 
riculum, but the consummation of a plan according to which 
all management, instructions, studies, and methods shall 
be brought into harmony with the inspired Word of the 
Lord. 

Preparatory steps toward so desirable an educational con- 
dition, are to be found in our Primary and Mutual Improve- 
ment Associations, in our Sunday School organizations, with 
the Religion Class movement as a supplement. Although 
under separate managements, all these organizations are 
laboring toward a common end — the elevation of the youth 
of Zion to a physical, moral, intellectual, and spiritual, stand- 
ard, that shall be a light to the nations. 

Religious influences, training, and instructions are con- 
sidered by the Latter-day Saints indispensable in true edu- 
cation. 

The General Authorities of the Church, not finding for the 
moral and spiritual safety of the children a sufficient guaran- 
tee against the invasion of unbelief, skepticism, moral defici- 
encies, and other objectionable influences, have sought dili- 
gently for means to counteract such tendencies. 

The result of their deliberations is the conviction of the 
necessity of a religious basis of education, scholastic, as well 
as domestic, extending Irom the infant at the mother's knee 
to the aspirant for professional honors at the college. 

The main object of our theological, or rather, religious train- 
ing, is to obtain for the pupil, by the assistance of the Holy 
Spirit, a living testimony of God, our Father, of Jesus Christ, 
our Savior, and of the divinity of the Latter-day Work, and 
to cause the pupil to shape- all his feelings, thoughts, v/ords, 
and actions in conformity with this testimony. 

This point gained, all other arguments and evidences re- 
lating to the truth of the Gospel are merely corroborating 
testimonies whose educational value lies in the sirenk.thenino' 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 30 5 

of already existing convictions, and in furnishing reasons 
"for the faith that is within." 

Recognizing the force of personal influence and the power 
of well-formed habits, the educational system of the Latter- 
day Saints takes these two potent factors into consideration 
in the choice of teachers, and in all their endeavors to train 
the youth "in the way in which they should go." 

Not satisfied, therefore, with the vague stipulation that a 
teacher shall be of good moral character, the Latter-day 
Saints in their Church Schools require that every teacher 
shall be a person of religious convictions and capable of set- 
ting an example worthy of imitation. Teachers not of our 
faith, are, in some exceptional cases, employed under certain 
restrictions, in some of our colleges in order to introduce 
branches of study for which there are not sufficiently well 
qualified instructors among our people. 

Besides che standard works of the Church, publications on 
theological subjects, some of great educational value, are 
now so numerous among our people, that the use of theolog- 
ical and ethical text-books from outside sources should be 
discountenanced in our Church schools, as not only superflu- 
ous, but actually detrimental. 

Theology is treated in the various educational organiza- 
tions and at the homes of the Latter-day Saints not only as 
a theoretical system of principles, doctrines, and ordinances, 
with their authorities, evidences, and arguments, but also as 
a practical course of training in habits that will secure happi- 
ness in this life and lead to exaltation hereafter. 

The first requisite for the accomplishment of these purposes 
is the Spii'it of God, that should imbue the minds of teachers 
and parents, cause them to love their charges with the love 
that Christ taught by his example, and enable them to sub- 
stantiate their teaching by their example. 

There is no substitute for this indispensable factor in re- 



3o6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

ligious training. Erudition, eloquence, and personal influ- 
ence may captivate or charm for a season, but their transi- 
tory nature will manifest itself invariably in hours that try 
men's souls. 

The modes and methods adopted for instructing and train- 
ing the youth "in the way they should go," and for opening 
before them those endless perspectives which stretch back- 
ward to the realms of primeval childhood, and forward into 
the glories of the resurrection and eternal life, are as various 
as may be demanded by the nature and purposes ot the 
organizations, in which theology receives special attention. 

Every fireside has its way of doing things; schools differ 
according to grades and environments; the mutual improve- 
ment associations follow plans laid out for this purpose; the 
Sunday schools are developing our admirable system in this 
respect; the primaries and kindergartens are contributing 
their share in the work; and the religion-classes are training 
incessantly in harmony with the rest, and all are endeavor- 
ing to have their particular lines of work converge toward 
that grand focus: the guidance of the Holy Spirit that lead- 
eth into all truth. 

Objective Science Lessons. As the simple precedes the 
complex, so is the concrete the basis for the abstract, and the 
commencement of all studies is in object-lessons. 

A true mother is a natural born educator. She pursues 
intuitively a course of instruction with her infant which the 
most philosophically inclined teacher with all his researches 
in psychology could not in the main improve upon. 

She teaches the infant to use his eyes by showing differ- 
ences in color, size, form, and distance, cultivates his sense 
of hearing by talking and singing to him; his emotions by 
pretending to cry or laugh; his memory by teaching him 
names of persons and things; his imagination by telling 
stories, showing pictures, and strange objects; his self-activity 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. ' 307 

by .giving him playthings; his sense of obedience by manifes- 
tations ot approval or censure. 

Underlying all these operations are abstract principles 
and mental activities which the infant gets accustomed to 
observe and to do, without comprehending their real im- 
port. 

This primary course of teaching, or rather training, con- 
stitutes the shell and albumen, so to speak, of the whole egg 
of education, in which the germ of the future independent 
individuality is hidden and passing through its embryonic 
stage. True education follows along these lines of natural 
development, whether at the fireside or in the school room. 
The perceptive faculties, affections, imagination, memory, 
recollection, and will-power, are the chief auxilaries which 
domestic and scholastic education have to call into requisi- 
tion in their efforts to train the young minds to the com- 
prehension and exercise of mental activities of a higher 
order. 

These natural gradations in the training of mental activi- 
ties secure the healthy growth toward the full measure of 
man's development and toward the accomplishment of 
the purposes for which he has been sent here by the Creator. 

The attempts of some modern educators and their follow- 
ers not to teach children anything until they are prepared to 
comprehend it — /. e. grasp the underlying reasons — would 
exclude from all primary education the fundamental principles 
of revealed religion and deprive childhood of the sanctifying 
influences of the Word of God. Such a course is as illogical 
and unnatural as the other extreme of feeding the youthful 
mind with myths, fables, and fairy tales. 

While in the former instance it may be said that undevel- 
oped reason is dragged prematurely into service and the 
faculties with which an allwise Creator has endowed child- 
hood in such profusion, are not awakened, — in the latter, 



308 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

young minds are supplied with concepts of unreal, impossi- 
ble, and false situations, combinations, and incidents, all of 
which have to be unlearned before the germ of truth, sup- 
posed to be underlying them, can be made available. 

Much moralizing and analyzing in telling stories, showing 
pictures, or making illustrations of any kind, indulged in by 
some teachers has a tendency to hinder rather than to assist 
imagination in its work of preparing the young mind for the 
reception and comprehension of the principles involved. I 
have otten seen more good accomplished in a few minutes by 
the spirit and manner in which a story was told or an illus- 
tration given, and by encouraging the little ones to repeat 
It, and interpolate their own reflections concerning it, than 
has been reached by elaborate and lengthy catechization. 

With the growth of the reasoning powers, however, the 
horizon of mental activities begins to expand; subjects and 
modes of instructions assume more substantial forms. While 
thus far the subjects presented seemed in the child's mind to 
be the chief points of his studies, the process of forming de- 
ductions and generalizations has gradually led the young 
mind to the comprehension of abstract ideas. 

The first conception of an abstract idea indicates the start- 
ing point of independent individuality in a human life. From 
that moment, objects in any branch of knowledge and skill 
become gradually mere illustrations of general principles — 
means toward general ends — and their conception and use 
are a correct criterion of the mental status of the individual. 

True education realizes these relationships, and introduces 
objective illustrations as indispensable features in all branches 
of science and art, never discarding, but always looking be- 
yond them. 

Whether a teacher in a primary class illustrates the con- 
ception of form by globular, square, or irregularly shaped 
objects, or the professor explains the principle of electricity 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 309 

by experiments in the laboratory, the objective illustrations 
are only the means for the obtaining of a conception of an 
abstract principle. Hence the placing of the concrete before 
the abstract should always be the keynote for all elementary 
as well as advanced instruction. 

Training in habits of the beautiful, the true, and the good, 
should prepare for the judicious exercise of free agency, and 
assist the young mind in using its mental powers for the ac- 
quirement of the highest aims of spirituality, as pointed out 
to us by Divine Revelation. 

Reading and Elocution. The ability to read and write 
one's mother tongue is considered an indispensable requisite 
of any member of a civilized community. This fact is recog- 
nized by even the most indolent and indifferent in educa- 
tional matters. 

The anxiety for this amount of "education" is so great in 
some instances, that time is taken by the forelock, and child- 
ren are taught their "letters" at home long before they 
enter the school room. Some fond mothers exhibit with 
pride the feat of their little ones in reciting the alphabet. 

I have often looked with pity upon little ones thus brought 
out, circus-like, to go through acrobatic performances for the 
applause of thoughtless visitors. What unnatural method, 
amounting, perhaps, to mental and bodily torture, had to be 
employed to train these babies in the performance of such 
useless tricks! 

The same reflections crowd upon me sometimes when I see 
children coming to school with the alphabet in their little 
noddles. Parents ought to confine themselves to instructing 
and training their little ones in such principles of conduct, 
observation, affection, and devotion, as the opportunities for 
their application may be presented in the limited sphere of 
child-life. They would thus contribute far more to the in- 
tellectual advancement of their children, than by stuffing 



3IO SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

them with the "knowledsfe" of ineanin9"less sig^ns, names, 
and sounds. Parents fortunate enough to enjoy the benefits 
of a well conducted Kindergarten, have pointers given them 
continually in regard to the proper management of children 
under school age; those less favored in this respect, should 
keep in mind the above stated caution, and leave to the 
teacher what is the teacher's. 

What teacher of primary grades has not been doubtful at 
times whether to laugh or be vexed, when listening to some 
parent complaining that his child could not yet recite his 
alphabet after so and so many week's schooling, although 
the little one could read and write his lessons quite fluently.'* 

The aims in conducting reading classes are to learn to 
read, to understand what is read, articulate and pronounce 
the mother tongue correctly, to become acquainted with good 
language and learn to use it, to obtain information, and 
finally to become imbued with noble and exalting sentiments. 
All these points intersect and support one another. There 
are teachers, however, that make a hobby of one or more of 
them, to the detriment of the rest: some merely drill to read 
and read, as if their pupils were mere parrots and magpies; 
others are too much taken with pronunciation exercises. 
Here the teacher wastes the precious tim.e in philosophical 
catechizations about intricate passages, and there one is bent 
on elocutionary displays, as if the capacity for reciting a 
sensational piece of poetry or oratory on public occasions 
were the chief object of learning to read. These hobbies 
should be guarded against by constant self-control on the 
part of the teacher; for the temptation to fall into one or the 
other of them is always present and sometimes almost irri- 
sistible. 

In the four lower grades, the practice of concert reading 
for the sake of drill is earnestly to be recommended. By 
teaching the class in these grades as a single pupil, position, 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 3 1 1 

voice, inflection, rate, pronunciation, etc., can be harmonized, 
close attention can be secured, and every pupil be kept 
actively engaged in the recitation. This being tollovved by 
sections, and single reading, gives the teacher opportunity to 
test the progress of his class in general as well as that of the 
individual pupils in particular. The individuality of the 
pupils at that stage of school life is not sufficiently developed 
and ought to be supplemented by training in promptness. 
If this principle be early made a habit, it will be of great ad- 
vantage in the further development of the young mind. 

This method, requiring of the teacher, as it does, a sharp 
eye, a good ear, and much mental and bodily strain, is some- 
times very fatiguing, but in the hands of an efficient teacher, 
it is the most effectual way to teach this branch of study. In 
the hands of an indolent or careless teacher, every method 
will prove a failure. 

Students should be encouraged to ask questions for infor- 
mation on points in their lessons. Definitions in a student's 
own language, in form of illustration, application or in any 
other way showing that he has the correct idea or partly so, 
are preferable to any memorized scientific definition, or to a 
mere transposition of terms taken from a dictionary. 

The reading of poetry should be restricted to one piece 
after at least two or three prose readings. As respects the 
latter, narratives, descriptions, moral dissertations, conversa- 
tional pieces, and classic and scientific selections should be 
given the preference over merely oratorical effusions. 

The true interests of the pupils are too often sacrificed to 
the vanity or personal interests of teachers. To seek in elo- 
cutionary displays by a few favored pupils or in a class 
parade, the means of establishing a reputation, is a betrayal 
of the sacred trust confided to a teacher. Reading is to be 
taught in all the grades of primary education, not for the 
benefit of a few specially adapted pupils who may shine at 



312 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

public entertainments, but for all the pupils: all need a 
knowledge of this art in the exigencies of practical life. 

To give the human voice flexibility and modulation; to 
enable the organs of speech to perform their tasks in an easy 
and intelligible manner; to steady the eye so as to grasp 
words and sentences at sight; to regulate the breathing in 
accordance with the required rate, pitch, inflections, and 
pauses; to assume such positions and give such gestures as 
the nature of the sentiments to be expressed may require; to 
learn to read not as if from a book, but as if uttering original 
sentiments; and finally, to supplant, by the cultivation and 
appreciation of substantial and sound literature, the taste for 
trashy, superficial, and unsound writings — are some of the 
principal aims which the conscientious teacher has always 
before him in conducting a reading lesson. No method, 
however, can ever supply deficiencies in the teacher's own 
love, devotion, and adaptability for the work. 

Elocution (so-called) with its fascinating, dramatic features, 
is in some schools over-stepping its legitimate sphere, and 
encroaching upon reading. It pretends to elevate the latter 
but instead of doing so, introduces only a sensation and high- 
ly flavored aid at the expense of the fundamental principles 
above alluded to. There is a great deal of sham in this con- 
nection practiced in some schools, which can be eradicated 
only by sharp criticism on the part of the proper authorities. 

The legitimate sphere of Elocution is with students of the 
eighth grade and of High Schools. Even there the study 
ought to be made to conform more closely to the future re- 
quirements of the students in the pulpit, at the bar, in legis- 
lative halls, in the lecture room, on the stump, or in private 
circles. There is too much pomposity, sensationalism, and 
and impractical oratory indulged in; while the finer features 
of Elocution, that are always in harmony with nature, are 
lost sight of, or are sacrificed for the cheap clap-trap of tran- 
sient, ignorant applause. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 3 1 3 

Orthography. Between the ideographic hieroglyphics of 
the Egyptians and the complex and sometimes arbitrary in- 
tricacies of English spelling and pronunciation stretches a 
long series of evolutionary transitions. There is no reason 
why the so-called original languages, not having been sub- 
jected to intermixture with loreign elements, could not fol- 
low the fundamental principle in the relationship between 
oral and written language, viz: A sound is a letter, that is, 
each sound is represented by its own special sign, and each 
sign has its own special sound. But mixed languages, of 
which the English is the most conspicuous illustration, en- 
counter difficulties that make the adoption of that simple rule 
almost an impossibility. Phonography has accomplished 
the task in some measure but at the sacrifice of the philo- 
logical structure of the language. However, phonography 
makes no pretention to assistance by the study of word- 
derivations. 

In Orthography and its twin sister Orthoepy have been 
found difficult problems until this day. The question of how 
to master Orthography with its co-ordinate branches, capit- 
alization, syllabication, accentuation, and punctuation, in a 
rational and systematic manner, is yet awaiting an answer 
acceptable to all teachers. The mere memorizing methods 
have been tried and found wanting, and analytical methods 
of procedure have also proven unsatisfactory in many re- 
spects. 

There are several psychological phenomena connected 
with the subject under consideration that may furnish a clue 
to the solution of the vexed question. It has been observed 
that many persons distinguished in literary, scientific and 
other leading .spheres of thought, are habitually poor spellers, 
while, on the other hand, persons of scarcely a common 
school education, seem to spell correctly; as it were, by in- 
stinct. There are others to whom certain words, no matter 



314 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

how often used, become occasionally obscure, and the dic- 
tionary has again and again to be consulted. An acquain- 
tance of the author asserts that he needs only to shut his 
eyes, when doubtful about the correct spelling of a word, 
and write it hurriedly without any mental assistance. He be- 
lieves that the right form of the word is in his fingers by 
habit. Finally, it is a common observation, that persons 
quite expert in oral spelling are sometimes guilty of most 
egregious blunders in writing. 

These and similar phenomena demonstrate the fact that 
expertness in spelling is not the exclusive result of analytical 
process of training nor, on the other hand, of memorizing. 
There are influences either favorable or unfavorable to the 
acquirement of the art of good spelling, which a teacher 
should take into account. 

Phrenologically speaking, I have noticed that pupils enjoy- 
ing a keen sense for form, make, all other things being equal, 
more rapid progress in spelling than pupils less favored in 
this respect. 

Written exercises are the only true test of spelling. It 
appears from the above that other factors will have to be 
called into requisition in order to achieve desirable results in 
Orthography. One of these is constant practice until cor- 
rect spelling becomes a habit of the fingers, as my friend 
above alluded to, would say. 

The maxim, that whatever a child can read it should be 
able to write, will, from the start, render aid to the acquire- 
ment of correct spelling, by constantly copying the reading 
lesson. 

As every phild can be trained to speak fluently long before 
it has any knowledge of etymology or syntax, so might it 
also learn to spell correctly before it is taught any rules of 
Orthography. This does not, however, exclude the adoption 
of more systematic methods later on, when the young minds 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 315 

are sufficiently prepared to apply general rules and principles 
to things familiar to them already, and v/hen they are pre- 
pared to apply such rules to get unknown cases. 

Grammar and Composition. The nearer education in all 
its branches comes to the pattern set by nature, the more 
satisfactory will be the results achieved. This observation 
serves as a much needed caution to instructors in grammar 
and composition. The only use which primary education 
has for grammar is to teach the pupils a correct use of their 
mother tongue. The study of grammar is only a means 
toward an end, although many teachers seem to treat it for 
its own sake alone. Diagraming, analyzing, and the appli- 
cation of rules, constitute with them the sum total of their 
exercises. Whether such teachers follow text-books accord- 
ing to the synthetic or the analytic method, my objection in 
such cases remains, as the fundamental principle of grammar- 
study, as stated above, is neglected, and the pattern set by 
nature, ignored. 

The use of the mother tongue being the chief aim, a young 
mother teaches her infant some few words and expressions 
for which there is an immediate use, enlarging gradually the 
vocabulary as the awakening intellect of the infant will justify. 
In this procedure no attempt at classification, definition, or 
explanation of rules, is made, and yet the child may learn to 
talk quite fluently, according to the pattern it has to follow. 

Later, on entering the school room, the child finds still 
better opportunities for cultivating its capacity in expressing 
itself, through the pattern set before it in its little reading 
exercises, by having to answer questions, and by taking a 
part in the talks between teachers and pupils. Thus it learns 
the use of correct language in a measure long before it be- 
comes aware of the existence of any grammatical rule. 

The influence of habit in the moral and intellectual train- 
ing of children is not recognized in the school room to the 



3l6 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

degree that it is in the home circle. Most of the activities 
of every-day life are pertormed or looked upon by all of us 
more or less according to habit; so that the application of an 
analytical process before the tormation of certain concept 
ideas, conclusions, intentions, or even acts, would in some 
instances be useless, in others even impossible. We talk, in 
respect to pronunciation, grammar, and ideas, as we have 
become accustomed, and only on particular occasions and for 
special reasons, do we feel the necessity of arranging our ex- 
pressions in stricter compliance with established rules. The 
more correct, therefore, our first impressions have been, upon 
which our habits have gradually been formed, the more for- 
tunate we are in finding ourselves in harmony with the in- 
structions that are obtained later, and a comprehension of, 
and compliance with them, will then be so much the easier. 

This observation finds a strong application in the study of 
grammar. Children habituated at their home to the use of 
correct language will enter the school room much better pre- 
pared to receive and express ideas than others deprived of 
the advantages of a judicious home education. For sometime 
to come the primary teacher pursues his course along the 
lines which nature has taught the intelligent mother, and 
makes his little pupils observe, express, remember, reproduce 
the simple matters presented before them. There is a great 
deal of oral composition already going on in those primary 
classes, which is soon followed by suitable work in writing, 
though in all this not one word of technical grammar is given. 
The little ones talk and write as they see others do; learn to 
use certain words, phrases, sentences, ideas, and forms of 
speech as they become habituated to them, and may acquire 
quite an efficiency therein. From this experience it becomes 
apparent that composition should not only accompany all 
grammar study, but actually precede it, form the basis of it, 
and be the final aim to be reached by it. In consequence of 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 3 1 7 

this, the headiiicr of this chapter should read Composition 
and Grammar, instead of following the common usage. 

The study of grammar is indulged in too early and too 
much in our public schools. Grammar, as such, should not 
commence before the fifth grade of the present graded system, 
even though it be in the somewhat modified form of so-called 
"Language Lessons," and then only as a supplement to com- 
position. In the succeeding grades it may gradually gain on 
its companion, but it should never be permitted to be entire- 
ly separated trom it. 

The art of composition, that is, the capacity of expressing 
one's ideas upon a given subject in a coherent, logical, and 
fluent manner, either orally or in writing, is one of those 
accomplishments that every one laying claim to recognition 
in intelligent society, or desirous of pursuing a prosperous 
career, must possess in some degree. 

The school and fireside are, therefore, deeply interested in 
the cultivation of that art, and only where each supplements 
and assists the other in this direction can the full benefits 
accruing from this study be realized. Parents can aid the 
teachers by setting an example of good language themselves; 
correcting improper expressions in style, grammar, or spirit, 
on the part of their children; engaging them frequently in 
elevating and instructive conversations; by providing them 
with suitable reading matter; by encouraging them in keep- 
ing private journals; by attending to family correspondence; 
and by getting them to take part in public entertainments, 
such as Sunday School, Mutual Improvement, and public 
school exhibitions. 

The cultivation of the art of composition in the school 
room must necessarily assume a more systematic form, for 
which text-books, furnish suggestive guidance. But there 
is no text-book that ever can or ever will supply a teacher 
with an adequate list of subjects to choose from, or be con- 



3l8 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

fined to: for the conditions of every school, as regards en- 
vironments and efficiency, vary to such a degree that text- 
book composition-work becomes flat and artificial. 

The list of subjects marked out by a teacher for composi- 
tion gives a pretty fair estimate of his conception of the work 
assigned him. Some teachers delight in effusions on senti- 
mental, literary, or philosophical subjects; others give prefer- 
ence to narratives and descriptions; others again see in trans- 
positions from poetry into prose, or visa versa, or in reitera- 
tions of lectures, the best means for achieving the most de- 
sirable results. The guiding principles for chosing subjects 
for composition should be, that they be practical, instruc- 
tive, and within the range of the pupils' conception. 

All the scholastic training which the great majority of 
children will ever get, they will have to obtain in the com- 
mon schools, whence they must issue forth to the various 
spheres of life wherein their lot may be cast. This fact has 
to be kept in view, and whatever is taught them in school 
can only lay a foundation to assist them in preparing them- 
selves for the requirements of practical life. 

The future men and women will have advertisements to 
publish, business and family letters to write, documents to 
draw up, descripcions and reports to make, speeches to 
deliver, etc., yet these and similar efforts in composition, 
every citizen of a free country should be sufficiently prepared 
for, and not be under the necessity of employing professional 
aid for such common place work. 

There is in some instances too much time wasted and op- 
portunity lost by giving subjects of a philosophic nature 
which can receive only, an exceedingly superficial treatment: 
the pupils in such cases endeavor to cover up their want of 
depth by high-sounding generalities. 

There is no exercise in the whole school curriculum that 
offers to the pupil so much opportunity for thoroughly prov>^ 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 319 

ing his mental status as a composition. The outward appear- 
ance, cleanliness, and general "make up" of his paper, shows 
his taste and sense of order; his writing exhibits his progress 
in penmanship and also his perseverance — the latter when 
the last lines are as carefully executed as the first; his or- 
thography is placed on record; so is his grammar; his style, 
even, in some faint original points, reveals his individual in- 
clinations and dispositions, and the treatment of the subject 
demonstrates the amount of his knowledge concerning the 
subject and his power of thought in general. 

Schiller says: "Willst du immer weiter schweifen, see das 
Gute leigt so nah." (Are you always farther roaming, see 
the good that lies so near.) This injunction of the great 
German poet should be taken to heart by every teacher in 
selecting subjects for composition. If composition has com- 
menced in the primary grades within the simple range of 
object-lessons, it is a pointer for teachers in the succeeding 
higher grades, merely to expand the circle of observation in 
every direction. Sound education never intended that there 
should occur at any stage of development a cutting loose 
from the known moorings of thought, and a drifting into 
fanciful, unreal, unknown, and metaphysical realm ot specu- 
lation. Nor should primary instruction enter into discussions 
of open questions in politics, theology, philosophy, etc. The 
environments of pupils furnish so inexhaustible a supply of 
subjects of a mechanical, a mental, a moral, and a social 
nature, — all affording wide scopes for observation, judgment, 
individual opinion, and fluent expression — that any choice of 
subjects, foreign to observation and outside real knowledge 
and interest, is not only a mere waste of time, but amounts 
to an actual injury to the pupils. 

Arithmetic. Arithmetic, appealing, as it does, more than 
any other study save reading, to the requirements of practical 
life, is sometimes suffered to exercise over scholastic educa- 



320 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 

tion such a preponderating influence as to become detrimen- 
tal to the development of the mind in other directions just 
as important, and too often create an impractical, one-sided- 
ness that can never be fully compensated for by mere profi- 
ciency in figures. 

To appreciate the real value and bearing of any branch of 
study, and to assign it to its place in the curriculum, consti- 
tutes one of the the tests of a teacher's qualifications. As 
in all reflective studies, the mind of the pupil during the study 
of this branch should be in a normal condition. It should 
neither be wearied by preceding studies nor yet insufficiently 
settled down for concentrated attention, as at the beginning 
of school or immediately after recess. 

The time is still vivid in the memory of us teachers in these 
western regions, when pupils pointed with pride to the fact 
that they had "worked" so and so many pages of arithmetic 
in one day; as if arithmetic could be measured by pages, as 
cloth is by the yard or potatoes by the bushel. 

In common with most other studies, arithmetic has its 
legitimate beginning in object-lessons. Here addition and 
the rest of the elementary steps as well with fractions as 
with integers, are illustrated and carried on by objects. 
Numbers with their corresponding figures and signs can be 
used rationally only after the operations are already under- 
stood and done by means of objects. 

The keynote for all operations in arithmetic in the succeed- 
ing grades is thus given: — in the first grade it is the old tor- 
mula, the concrete must precede the abstract. I am aware 
that this is in contradiction to the rule of many leading text- 
books on arithmetic. Most of these have been compiled by 
distinguished mathematicians, who have long ago forgotten 
that they once were boys and had to learn abstractions by a 
long course of abstracting; men who by reason of this forget- 
fulness, look with pity upon beings still assisting themselves 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 321 

with the concrete, and so maintain that real intelligence be- 
gins only when one learns this in the abstract. I do not in- 
tend to raise here an issue with this proposition on its merits, 
but allude to it merely for the purpose of stating that it 
should not be brought up as an argument in favor of the ab- 
stract preceding the concrete in teaching arithmetic in the 
common schools. As a preparation for a course in higher 
mathematics, the predominance of the abstract is justifiable 
and proper, but as more than ninety per cent of our common 
school population will never have an academic or even a high 
school course, they have to be satisfied with the opportuni- 
ties that primary education afiford. These opportunities are, 
however, modified and curtailed by various influences, to such 
an extent as to be reduced in point of practical utility, to a 
minimum. This condition of affairs enjoins upon primary 
education the duty of giving to its pupils as practical a train- 
ing in arithmetic as the necessities of their future spheres in 
life peremptorily demand. 

The mechanical training in counting, .and the meaningless 
learning of the multiplication table, indulged in by many 
parents before their little ones are capable of comprehending 
anything about it, ranks with the absurdity of the alphabet- 
stuffing spoken of in the chapter on Reading. Parents will 
consult the better interests of their children and bestow a 
favor upon teachers, by letting counting and multiplication 
table alone so far as the little ones are concerned, at least, 
until the latter request their assistance in repeating their 
lessons from the school. 

It is very gratifying to notice the increasing number of 
teachers in all primary stages of arithmetical studies, who 
choose their problems from the environments of their pupils 
instead of mechanically following the text-book. 

Frequent drills in mental work stand in the same relation- 
ship to arithmetic that voice drill and pronunciation exercises 



322 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

do to reading; for every kind of arithmetical operation a 
model form should be given by the teacher, explained and 
anal3^zed by him, copied and analyzed by the class after the 
model, and applied to all similar problems. After complete 
familiarity with the step has been obtained by the class, 
privilege should be given to the pupils to solve such prob- 
lems in any other way they can think of. 

Practical business men frequently get better results than 
do professed students in mathematics. While the former 
get quickly at results by the application of a simple rule, 
the latter are toiling through the meshes of a round about 
analysis. 

There is no disparagement intended of the analytical pro- 
cess, which is the very keystone of all mathematics; but 
it is urged that the advantages of practical contrivances 
in arithmetic, by which quick and reliable results can be ob- 
tained, should not be withheld from the pupil. The recog- 
nized principle of cancellation, for instance, is an illustration 
of my pleading. 

Some suggestions I venture to submit to the consideration 
of my fellow teachers for guidance in conducting their 
arithmetic lessons; in order to make them as practical as 
possible. 

All examples consist of (i) a problem, (2) a proposition, (3) 
process of solution, and (4) an answer. 

If the problem is taken from the text-book, a number in- 
dicating it, is sufficient. 

The proposition should be formulated according to arith- 
metical terms. 

The process of solution should be always self-explanatory 
and should be drawn up in a business like form. Results ot 
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, in complex 
examples may be inserted after having been obtained by 
marginal calculation. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 323 

The answer should always be a complete statement. 

These principal parts ot the example ought to be separated 
by lines. All examples should be arranged, drawn up, and 
written on business-like principles, even in the primary 
classes, so as to cultivate the principles of precision, order, 
and reliability, so indispensable in all business affairs. 

Frequent reviews in the form of promiscuous examples, 
covering indiscriminately the whole range of arithmetic as 
far as the class has gone, offer the best opportunity tor appli- 
cation of the arithmetical knoAvledge thus far gained. 

There is, occasionally, too much time wasted by trifling 
with catch examples that have no bearing upon practical life, 
and are like acrobatic performances in arithmetic. 

A wide-awake teacher will never be at a loss to find mater- 
ial for illustrations of arithmetical principles from the subject 
matter presented to the pupils in other branches of study, 
physical geography for instance. 

Geography. Although as an empirical science it is subject 
to the changes of conditions and material which political 
events, physical causes, and scientific discoveries may bring 
about, geography rests in the main upon a basis of perman- 
ent principles. 

Slowly have the advantages to be derived from this study 
dawned upon parents. The wide-spread ignorance in regard 
to its nature and importance was too often re-enforced by 
unsurmountable indifference as to its value, or open protesta- 
tions as to its uselessness. But that day is happily past; and 
with the steady growth in the appreciation of its usefulness, 
other questions arise demanding earnest consideration, in 
order to secure to it such a place in the school room as its 
importance demands. 

The study of geography begins with object lessons and 
may receive some partial attention already in the Kindergar- 
ten. The family circle also comes in for its share in the work 



324 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

of preparation, by relating to the child stories of travels, 
showing- and explaining pictures of interesting localities, ex- 
hibiting curious objects from foreign lands, and visiting 
menageries, panoramas, and similar exhibitions. Children 
themselves are constantly storing up geographical knowledge 
by becoming familiar with the application of geographical 
terms, as points of the compass, the changes of seasons, the 
names of mountains, localities, etc. 

Provided with such a foundation of geographical material, 
the child is sufficiently prepared to enter, during the second 
or third year of his regular school life, upon a more system- 
atic course. Then it is that in many instances a serious mis- 
take is made, a mistake which, because of the force of the 
first impressions, too often spoils the taste for the study of 
geography during the remainder of school-liie. That sound 
educational principle, viz: that we must proceed gradually 
from the known to the unknown, a principle carefully ob- 
served during object-lesson training, is suddenly abandoned 
with the adoption of the text-book, and names, terms, local- 
ities, statistics, persons, events, — things tar beyond the 
horizon of actual observation and clear comprehension, — are 
introduced in bewildering heterogeneity. To make up for 
this sudden deviation from the rational and natural course of 
procedure, illustrations are occasionally used, but the lesson 
has ceased to be a living affair as it used to be in the Kin- 
dergarten and object-lesson exercises. 

The first stage of systematic instruction in geography re- 
quires no text-book. The school room is the first object to 
be treated geographically. The determining of the points of 
the compass, the illustration of the difference between a 
picture and a map, the description of other school rooms, 
from the poorest kind to the most magnificent, constitute the 
first step. In harmony with this course the school building, 
its surroundings, the streets leading to it, the whole town or 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 325 

the near portions of it, the neighborhood, mountains, rivers, 
great buildings, are treated in the same manner in succes- 
sion, until the geographical horizon has become sufficiently 
enlarged, to be considered as having supplied experience, 
observation, and geographical thought enough for entrance 
into the next higher grade. During the course in this grade 
the use of the sand table is urgently recommended. 

No careful teacher will fail to gather collections of 
geographical illustrations, sketches, and pictures, (cuts from, 
newspapers and magazines, for instance,) and to have them 
classified, duh^ labeled, registered, and placed in a scrap 
book; this, if supplemented by a cabinet of zoological, botan- 
ical, geographical, and industrial specimens, will constitute a 
school property of ever-increasing value, although it may 
not have cost the district a cent, consisting entirely of vol- 
untary contributions by the pupils' friends and the patrons 
of the school. 

The methods of teaching geography in the higher grades 
is open, in some instances, to the objection that text-books 
are followed too closely. In these grades no geography 
teacher should be seen before his class with a text-book. 
Whether in topographical, physical, or mathematical geo- 
graphy, a teacher should use the text-book for the purpose 
of reference only. His plan, showing the kind and amount 
of subject-matter, and mode of teaching, ought to be more 
or less original with him. 

In many respects the three grand divisions of geography 
are intersecting, augmenting, and supplementing each 
other; and none can be treated entirely independent of the 
other. 

Some leading newspaper should be on hand at geography 
lessons, so that the geographical items of places or countries 
spoken of in the respective issue, can be explained and 
located. 



326 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Maps covered with a multitude of details in large and small 
print have a tendency to weaken the impression of the real 
geographical forms which it is intended to make upon the 
mind; hence outlined-maps are preterable for direct class use, 
while the former kind may answer for reference, and prepar- 
ation. Drawing of outline maps should be conducted so sys- 
tematically as to enable any pupil to compile a complete out- 
line atlas of his own, in which, however, not a single word, 
name, or letter should appear, and yet the student should be 
able to explain every geographical item represented there. 
The construction of relief-maps by pupils is also productive 
of much good. Every student in these grades should be 
trained in giving illustrative demonstrations of the leading 
features in mathematical geography, as for instance, the 
motions of the earth, sun, and moon, of the eclipses, the 
seasons, and the planetary system. 

For a complete review, or self-examination, concerning 
the amount of knowledge of any given country, the subjoined 
general schedule is suggested. 

General Schedule. 

Name. 

Definition. 

Derivation. 

Pronunciation. 
Location. 

On the globe. 

On the maps. 

According to zones. 

According to longitude and latitude. 

Direction from the school room and average distance- 

Boundaries, 

According to points of compass-. 
Natural. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 327 

Political. 

By comparisons. 
By square miles. 

Form. 

Kinds (island, peninsula, etc.) 
By comparison with other objects. 
By maps and sketches. 

Ste7'/aci\ 
Land. 

Mountains (kinds, parts, and characteristics.) 
Plains, (kinds, phenomena, use.) 

Water. 

Standing, (kinds, uses, phenomena, parts.) 
Running, [kinds, parts, uses, phenomena.] 

Climate. 

In respect to hygiene. 

In respect to meteorology. 

Natural Products. 
Animal kingdom. 
Vegetable kingdom. 
Mineral kingdom. 

Inhabitants. 
Number. 
Races. 

Grade of civilization. 
Languages. 
Religions. 
Chief occupations. 
Customs and habits. 

Government. 

Form, [monarchial or republican.] 

Nature, [despotic, liberal, oligarchical, etc.] 



328 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

Promineiit Places. 

In commerce and industry. 
Capital cities. 

In science, art, and mechanism. 
In histor}/. 

Prominent Meit and Events. 

By this schedule any one can examine himself in order to 
discover the exact amount of knowledge he has of any given 
country. 

U. S. History. History is the twin sister of geography, as 
neither can be taught successfully without the aid of the other, 
General history not being considered essential in the gram- 
mar grade of primary education has been placed on the list 
of optional studies and is represented in the regular curricu- 
lum by United States History. This is a wise provision, in- 
asmuch as giving precedence to the history of one's native 
land is in conformity with the principle of synthetic progress. 
Historical impressions have their origin at the fireside, where 
sketches from the lives of the members of the family, of 
friends, or neighbors are to the child the first sign-posts 
pointing to regions beyond its own self. 

This ever-widening circle of acquaintance with the lives 
and affairs of other people embraces, eventually, the school 
room, where the kind of impressions thus far received con- 
stitute the material which the teacher has to take into an 
account, either as useless or even base rubbish to be re- 
moved, or as valuable material to be used whenever avail- 
able. 

The fireside is the prototype of the father-land. The love 
of home is the germ of patriotism. 

The school recognizes these facts and endeavors to 
strengthen the ties that should unite school and fireside in 
concerted action to prepare the rising generation for honor- 
able citizenshio. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE, 329 

The study of history should proceed along rational lines. 
The promiscuous and incidental form in which historical im- 
pressions were made at first is succeeded by the more sys- 
tematically arranged stories about the school, native place, 
and characteristics and events from the life of prominent per- 
sons already known to the children either in person or by 
reputation. 

The next step will be to study history of the native state 
with continual reference to the fact, that it is a member of 
the great sisterhood of states. Patriotic songs and recita- 
tions; pictures; emblems; processions on great public occa- 
sions; reverence for the flag of our country, for national 
monuments and memorial days; occasional reminders of the 
great men and events in our nation's history, are some of the 
features, and the cultivation of genuine patriotism by train- 
ing in public spirit, unselfish devotion, obedience to its in- 
stitutions — these are the chief aims in the study of United 
States History. 

Hygiene. *'Man know thyself," is an injunction which no 
intelligent being can afford to ignore. Failure or neglect in 
this respect leaves man a prey to the uncertain conditions of 
chance, dependent upon the opinions of others, a victim to 
superstition and quackery, and deprives him of one of 
the most potent incentives to virtue. These facts are voices 
of warning to the home and the school, of which both will 
have to take heed in order to avoid responsibilities that could 
not otherwise be met successfully, 

I venture to say that in all civilized communities, exclusive 
of the tenement districts and hovels of misery, crime, and 
squalor in many of our large cities, far more infants die or 
contract diseases leading to imbecility or premature death, 
than would be the case if proper hygienic precautions were 
taken. Prevention is better than cure, is an old adage. 
Fresh air, eating and drinking regulated according to the 



330 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

principles of the Word of Wisdom, healthful exercise, loose 
clothing-, regular hours, a cheerful and contented spirit, clean- 
liness, etc., are some of the antidotes for disease. But not- 
withstanding- all these precautions, there are still agencies at 
work which are traceable in some instances to ancestry, back 
into the "third or fourth generation." If thou art so unfor- 
tunate as to be the possessor of such an heritage, live it down 
by a virtuous and well regulated life, that the course may 
not descend to thy posterity. There is no need that thou 
shouldst fall heir to the responsibility of it too. 

High life, late hours, perpetual worry about business, con- 
tinual rounds of pleasure and excitement, leaving the sacred 
duties of maternal cares to hired help, over-indulgence of 
children's whims and appetites, and neglect of the simplest 
hygienic laws, are some of the evils that beset home educa- 
tion. The diffusion of sounder educational principles through 
the press and the labors of devoted educators, strengthen 
the hope for a better condition of affairs in this respect, and 
for a consequent amelioration of the physical and moral con- 
dition of mankind. 

It is the school, however, above all other sources, which 
the fireside has to depend upon for instruction and guidance 
in regard to this all important subject. To assist the school 
in the performance of this mission, school laws provide in 
some shape or other for sanitary instructions in all public 
schools. Physical culture, gymnastics, military drill, lessons 
in hygiene, and healthful amusements, are receiving more 
careful attention and systematic treatment, so that a basis 
for higher physical, moral, mental, and spiritual development 
may be secured and mankind be brought nearer to the ulti- 
mate designs of our Heavenly Father in regard to the human 
family. 

Several important features of hygienic education have been 
alluded to already in this treatise, to one of which I desire 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 331 

to refer again here for the purpose of emphasizing its impor- 
tance. There should be a matron connected with every 
school, to instruct the girls in such hygienic and moral ques- 
tions as pertain particularly to the mission, welfare, and re- 
sponsibilities of their sex. A male teacher should perform 
corresponding duties, and similarly instruct the iboys and 
young men. These instructors should be persons of experi- 
ence, of acknowledged purity of head and heart, and be filled 
with the Spirit of God; for those instructions require great 
delicacy of treatment, and clear discernment. 

The terrible curse of secret vices, of flippant and impure 
talk and language among the youth; of obscene pictures; of 
questionable and sensational stories and publications; of un- 
controlled associations and companionships among the youth 
of both sexes, are the evils which sound education has the 
mission to counteract and eventually to overthrow in order to 
prepare a people worthy to meet the Prince of Peace at His 



second coming. 



Optional Studies. 



The difference between the so-called essential and the 
optional studies in primary education is not so much one of 
value as of expediency. It is true that the former provide 
information not only available but actually indispensable in 
every sphere of life; while the advantages derived from the 
pursuit of the latter are either mostly confined to special con- 
ditions of life, or their value consists in the refining and ele- 
vating influence which they exercise over the mind. 

If life were simply a struggle for existence, and the mission 
of education consisted in furnishing the necessary knowledge 
for carrying on this struggle, the "essential" studies, appeal- 
ing more directly to the material interests in a general way, 
would constitute the exclusive curriculum of primary schools, 
while "optional" studies, as a superfluous luxury, would be 



332 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

relegated to "private" institutions, for those that could afford 
to indulge in them. 

This view is not fancy, but has been honestly maintained 
b)" many as the true basis of primary education. "I do not 
want intelligent but practical and obedient subjects," said 
Francis I, emperor of Austria, in reply to some proposi- 
tions to advance the cause of general education among his 
people. 

The scope of useful, refining, and ennobling knowledge 
should be enlarged in proportion to the capacities, environ- 
ments, and aspirations of the pupils, so that the road to the 
highest possible mental development may be open to every 
child. The French adage, that every soldier carries the 
marshal's staff in his knapsack, corresponds with the Ameri- 
can saying, that the road to the White House is open to 
every citizen. The principles of true primary education 
underlie these sayings. 

General History occupies the most conspicuous place among 
the optional studies on account of its wide adaptability and 
because it is a natural sequence to the study of U. S. history. 
The great improvements in the methods of its treatment 
have brought General History into closer connection with 
the spirit and tendencies of modern education. The old 
methods of treating this study as a mere record of dynasties, 
wars, and political changes, have been superceded by the 
introduction of analytical, comparative, and "culturhistori- 
cal" features, thereby giving it the character of a true 
science, and placing it among the most potent factors in edu- 
cation. 

Domestic Science has been consolidated into a regular study 
at a very recent date. Its branches and applications were 
formerly either over-looked altogether or were scattered 
among the studies of physics, chemistry, and the natural 
sciences. Its practical tendencies, however, have not only 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 333 

secured to itself a permanent place ^among the optional 
studies, but promise to put this study ahead, until it shall be 
recognized as an indispensable feature of primary education, 
and have its place assigned in the regular curriculum of our 
common schools. 

Sloydwork for boys, ladies' work for girls, and hygienic 
lessons, are already the precursors of a system by which 
many dangerous and objectionable tendencies of modern 
education will be counteracted and the labors of the school 
be brought into closer relationship with the requirements of 
home-life. 

Physical Culture. As much as the study of physical culture 
is to be urged for merely hygienic reasons, there are yet 
other aims and benefits to be obtained from its pursuit. It 
gives variety to the exercises of scholastic life, it invigorates 
the bodily functions, and wards off many evils that accrue 
to the youth from too close confinement and protracted 
mental application. Although it may not be the task of 
physical culture in primary education to cultivate Chester- 
fieldian and Delsartian accomplishments, the capacity to use 
the body in a natural, easy, and graceful manner is of much 
psychological value in exercising a refining and elevating in- 
fluence upon the mind. 

Parents should encourage physical culture not only by sus- 
taining the efforts of the school in this direction from the 
Kindergarten upwards to the higher grades, but also by giv- 
ing their children frequent opportunity for practical applica- 
tion in every day life. Politeness, refinement in manners, 
and moral self-respect are some of the benefits that will be 
secured for the rising generations through the cultivation ot 
this branch of study. 

Singing. The Scriptures point to a scene enacted in 
heaven "when the foundations of the earth were laid" and 
*'the morning stars sang together." From the days of Jubal, 



334 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

"the father of all such as handle the harp and organ," to 
Beethoven, the composer of the "Ninth Symphony," and to 
Richard Wagner the originator of the 'Music of the Future," 
man upon earth, whether following the drum and fife in 
fratricidal warfare, or worshiping under the soul-inspiring 
tones of the hundred-voiced organ, has submitced to the en- 
trancing influence of the "Divine Art." Grecian mythology 
is full of poetic legends, illustrative of the power of music; 
and the churches from the days of the Psalmist to the grand 
masses in cathedrals, have recognized in vocal music the 
strongest incentive to devotion. 

Education, in consideration of all these and similar facts, 
uses vocal music as one of the most potent factors in the 
training of the youth. The school laws of Switzerland make 
singing not only a prominent but also an obligatory study in 
every school; and in Germany no teacher of the elementary 
grade can obtain a certificate unless he shows some degree 
of efficiency in teaching singing. Even in our country it is 
understood, that at least Kindergartnerins shall possess the 
ability to conduct singing exercises. 

Our public schools, Sunday schools, Primaries, and Mutual 
Improvement Associations, are putting forth praiseworthy 
efforts in giving vocal music suf^cient attention to popular- 
ize it more and more. The progress v/hich congregational 
singing, especially when led and assisted by a well trained 
choir, is making in our worshiping assemblies, is also a step 
in the right direction. The impetus which the celebrated 
Tabernacle choir of Salt Lake City is giving, is telt already 
to a greater or less extent throughout all the stakes of Zion. 
"Wo man singt da lass dich ruhig nieder, boese Menschen 
haben kein Lied." (Where they sing, there settle down in 
peace; wicked people have no song.) These words of Schiller 
are like milestones on the road to happiness. Flowers at the 
windows and songs around the hearth^are the ensigns of con- 
tented homes. =. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 335 

Ladies' Wo7'k. This branch of study for girls is emerging 
very gradually from the narrow limits within which it has 
been confined. The comprehension of its purposes did not 
extend, in some cases, beyond needlework, and even that con- 
sisted too often in mere fancy-work, while the requirements 
for the duties of domestic life were entirely overlooked. The 
vanity of teachers to make a fine show, stimulated by the 
general ignorance of the public in this respect, has been the 
chief obstacle in reforming this department and placing it 
upon a more comprehensive and practical basis. 

The aims of the Ladies' Work Department do not consist 
merely in getting up embroideries and similar specimens of 
fancy-work for exhibitions or for birthday presents: they 
have their starting points in practical work of the simplest 
kind that may be called for in the every-day occurrences of 
domestic life. It is not alone the needle and the scissors, but 
also the broom, the bread-pan, the stove, the bed, the nursery, 
and the sick room, that claim the attention of this depart- 
ment in its various grades. Talks, readings, and conversa- 
tions on domestic subjects, conducted under the influence of 
the Spirit of God, should enhance the mechanical work and 
give it pointers for judicious application in practical life. 

Mothers should consider it their duty to manifest a warm 
interest in the conduct of this department and to render all 
possible assistance to the teachers by furnishing necessary 
material, giving their daughters frequent opportunities for 
practical application, and by conversing with them on the 
topics presented to them by the teachers. The days of the 
girl singing at the piano "Who will care for mother now," 
while that maternal relative is working around the stove or 
at the wash tub, are rapidly passing away. 

Drawing. The time is not far distant when a certain de- 
gree of efficiency in drawing will be considered as essential 
in general education as the art of writing. Drawing is the 



336 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

capacity to perform concepts of objects and to produce them 
visible to the eye. There is no sphere of activity or of oc- 
cupation where this accomplishment could not be available 
or could be dispensed with entirely. Drawing is language 
expressed in forms. The ideographic representations on 
rocks, put there by savages, are as much the expressions of 
his thoughts, feelings, and grade of intelligence, as the 
scraggy sketches with which urchins often ornament walls 
and fences in our towns. 

Every teacher recognizes the impossibility of successfully 
demonstrating many ideas without the help of illustrations 
on the board, which for the sake of recollection and future 
reference ought to be reproduced in the notebooks of the 
pupils. 

The leading principles in drawing, as for instance, classifi- 
cation of forms, outlining, perspective, and shading, should 
become familiar to every pupil in school. The old habit of 
drawing from copies, or "picture making," is now gradually 
superceded by the cultivation of the power of observation of 
real objects, drawing from nature. This is a more rational 
course, one by which the pupil's capacity or inclination can 
be ascertained and he be given an opportunity in the direc- 
tion of "natural selection." 

Taste, observation, and perseverance, are some of the 
psychological results arising from the study of drawing, be- 
sides this study furnishes inexhaustible material for self-en- 
tertainment. 

The artisan and mechanic will become more efficient in 
his occupation, and the family circle will derive much amuse- 
ment as well as practical benefit from this accomplishment to 
which the school has given the start, and the home, oppor- 
tunities for practice. 

BRANCHES OF SECONDARY ECUCATION. 

That secondary, or higher education, is .an indispensable 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 337 

factor in civilization, goes without saying. By it are gener- 
ated the forces which maintain the religious, political, scien- 
tific, and all other relationships ot civilized society, and also 
those forces which are engaged in solving new problems, 
and preparing for new emergencies, forces which stimulate 
individual effort to emulate and excel the excellencies of the 
past, thereby creating standards of progress from which the 
leading spirits of the age can take their bearings and change 
the natural inertia of the masses into well directed activity. 

Human society is to a greater degree indebted to higher 
education than it is willing to admit or able to realize. In 
consequence of this general want of appreciation, higher 
studies are looked upon by some people, not only as a com- 
parative luxury, but even as something to be watched with 
distrust. They pretend to despise or ridicule such pursuits, 
declare and compare them with the amount of muscular labor, 
hours of daily toil, and material results derived from their 
own occupation. Just as well try to measure astronomical 
distances with a yardstick, or to carry on chemical and physi- 
cal experiments on the kitchen stove. 

The praiseworthy ambition of many of our young people 
to obtain as much of a higher education as can be brought 
within their reach, has led, however, in some instances, to 
extremes that have given color of justification to the criti- 
cisms alluded to above. When, with the attainment ot a 
higher education, a corresponding self-conceit is engendered 
in thejminds of young people, or a contempt for mechanical 
labor begins to manifest itself within them, or the idea 
springs up that their education places them above their less- 
favored companions and entitles them to more marked con- 
sideration — then it truly proves a detriment, having stunted, 
rather than assisted, them in their real intellectual growth. 
In such cases no expertness in particular directions can com- 
pensate for the loss of true nobility of soul; especially as 



338 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

higher education furnishes such plentiful means for attaining 
this latter quality also. 

At this juncture, however, the author enters, not without 
reluctance, his "Take heed" to the tendency manifesting it- 
self even among our people, to "over educate." If education 
meant simply the gaining of true knowledge and the training 
in its practical application, over-education would be a con- 
tradiction of terms, as no one can get too much truth, nor 
become too expert in applying it; but education, as under- 
stood by many, the securing of the best chances in life, the 
attainment of the most remunerative, comfortable, and con- 
spicuous positions, — education trom this point of view can 
be overdone. And it is overdone by many young people 
whose inclinations lead them to choose the so-called profes- 
sions, particularly in law, medicine, and higher pedagogy, in 
preference to agricultural or mechanical pursuits, even when 
the environments as well as natural endowments decidedly 
point the other way. This tendency is already over-crowd- 
ing some of these professions in our cities to such an extent 
as to exercise a demoralizing influence upon them. It creates 
an over-abundance of intellectual energies, which, if directed 
into more suitable channels, might be productive of far 
greater good to the community. Even in our legislative 
assemblies this spirit has made its appearance, in attempts to 
carry enactments that would infringe upon the rights of pri- 
mary education to confer benefits upon higher institutions of 
learning. To paraphrase Shakespeare, we should not love 
higher institutions less, but primary education more. If in 
our Normal institutions devotion to the real interests of the 
people is strong enough to withstand the temptation to turn 
"Professors," i. e. graduates who feel themselves fitted for 
high positions, and instead thereof these schools will bring 
their influence to bear upon the improvement and elevation 
of the schools of the primary grade, as the first and foremost 
consideration, and then follow up this course with such 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 339 

higher instructions as may be called for, then higher educa- 
tion will be greatly benefitted; for it will have a sound foun- 
dation to build upon and will become measurably free from 
certain aspirants to educational honors whose time and tal- 
ents would be better employed in other spheres. 

It is a well known maxim among the Latter-day Saints, 
that the Spirit of God manifests itself through the channels 
of inspiration and revelation; that it is the only source of 
true religious knowledge, and that the Elders and teachers 
of the Church have to depend upon such guidance according 
to the revealed order of the Priesthood. But religious con- 
victions and theological knowledge are not always identical. 
To promulgate the Gospel among strangers, to labor in its 
interest among the Saints, to teach it to the youth in any of 
the various organizations in Zion, requires not only firm con- 
victions but also a certain degree of theological training, in 
order to do it in a rational, systematic, and effectual manner. 
True theology requires neither philosophical sophistry, nor 
rhetorical eloquence, but a thorough knowledge of the Gospel, 
an abiding faith in its principles, an honest compliance with 
its requirements, and a systematic training in the methods 
of conveying the divine truth to the hearts and understand- 
ing of others. Our Church Colleges and Academies are under 
obligation, not only to have such theological instruction 
placed as a regular branch in their curricula, but to conduct 
all studies, and indeed to manage their entire organizations, 
in conformity with the spirit inculcated by theological exer- 
cises. 

The Natural Sciences have been accused, and in some in- 
stances not without cause, of a tendency to lead to skeptic- 
ism and infidelity. This, however, is not the fault of the 
sciences, but of their interpretation and treatment. They, in 
their unperverted, and unadulterated condition, can only 
reveal the works of the Creator which in no sense can con- 



340 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

tradict His words, and vice versa. The pernicious tendency 
of the modern schools to present evolution as the key to the 
interpretation of nature, has been the cause of all this pre- 
judice against the pursuit of those glorious records of God's 
work. Evolution is one of those agencies by which an all- 
wise Creator controls the development of His creations to- 
ward their ultimate destinies, but it is by no means either 
the only one or the Great First cause. There are, however, 
conscientious teachers with sufficient moral courage to with- 
stand the force of this agnostic wave that is at present 
sweeping through our institutions of higher education. The 
scientific discoveries of recent date, following one another in 
such rapid succession, are turning the tide, and demonstrate 
the superiority of practical experiments over mere speculative 
theories. 

This is an age of reading, speaking, and writing. Any- 
one with the power of language at his command, either 
through the pen or by word of mouth, can wield a great in- 
fluence over his field of activity. The pulpit, the bar, and 
the stump; the editor's sanctum, and the author's study, are 
the sources of public opinion; and it is public opinion that 
directs in the long run legislative halls, cabinets, and rulers. 
The destinies of nations, to a great extent depend, therefore, 
upon the kind of influence that comes from the people. Popu- 
lar sentiments do not spring suddenly into existence, like 
Minerva out of the forehead of Jupiter, but are the result of 
preparatory training; for which a people is largely indebted 
to higher education, attained, it may be, either formally in 
some secondary institution of learning, or incidentally through 
private sources. 

As a matter of course, it is to be expected that superfici- 
ality, froth, and high-sounding verbosity, will make up a 
great portion of the motely current of public opinion, but that 
current will swell on, nevertheless, in its onward course, dis- 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 34 1 

seminating knowledge, rectifying and purifying, awakening 
controversy, inviting investigation, and gaining truth. Lit- 
erature, whether in prose or poetry, is the best indicator of 
a nation's character, spirit, and intellectual status. Institu- 
tions of higher education, while in some measure creating 
that status, are at the same time subject to its influences and 
reflect more or less the inclinations, aspirations, and general 
spirit of the people and of the times. No student of these 
institutions can afford to neglect the refining and ennobling 
study of literature, by which he alone can become acquainted 
with the products of the noblest minds and familiarize him- 
self with the best modes of expression in his native tongue. 
These acquirements will assist him materially in every voca- 
tion and sphere of life. 

The question, whether ancient languages should continue 
to maintain their time-honored hegemony among linguistic 
studies, or whether they should yield more readily to the 
claims of modern languages, is by no means of so easy a 
solution as it may appear at first glance. The advocates of 
the so-called ancient classic languages point with pride as an 
incontrovertible argument, to the inexhaustible treasures of 
beauty, wisdom, and historical information stored up within 
the classic productions of antiquity; and insist upon their re- 
tention as the prototypes of all literary excellencies; and 
argue their indispensableness on the strength of their being 
the source of all scientific nomenclature, and the basis of 
English etymology. 

The disciples of the modern school, on the other hand, 
while not denying these claims, maintain that good transla- 
tions are sufficient for preserving the literary fruits of an- 
tiquity, that our own literature, although developing along 
other lines, is in no way inferior to that of the ancients, and 
that the distribution of dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and the 
countless number of books, magazines, and other publica- 



342 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

tions, make the general study of ancient languages for the 
sake of current derviation superfluous, and that, therefore, the 
necessary formation of new words for scientific purposes could 
safely be left to specialists. 

These are the principal arguments of both sides in this in- 
teresting controversy. Out of the present transitory state, 
which may be called a partial compromise, there will 
probably emerge new forms and methods of linguistic studies, 
which will be as far removed from the dry style of the for- 
malities as from the mere utilitarian tendencies of the oppo- 
site school. 

We encounter, however, right here, another point of con- 
tention within the very camp of the new school; that is in 
regard to the methods of teaching languages. While some 
contend that the classic or grammatical methods, as resting 
upon a solid philosophical basis, should be followed, others 
are vigorously advocating the natural or cumulative methods. 
It is simply the old controversy over again, only transferred 
to a new field. This contention will be carried on with the 
same display of learning, tenacity, and enthusiasm on both 
sides, and as in the former instance, it will lead eventually 
to an amalgamation of the good in both parties, and linguis- 
tic studies will be the gainer in the end. 

The Magi and Egyptian priests monopolize all knowledge 
of natural sciences, astronomy, chemistry, physics, medicine, 
etc., for purposes best known to themselves; and the multi- 
tude from the king down to the slave were kept in sacred 
awe, before their wisdom. The king found in those advo- 
cates of priestcraft theif most convenient allies in despotic 
systems of government. In the Middle ages, alchemy held 
sway among the learned professions, and the elixir of life, 
and the philosopher's stone, were problems the solution ot 
which Worried the wisest minds, not to speak of the squaring 
of the circle and the perpetuum mobile, which came in also 
for its full share of attention. 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 343 

These phantoms were dispelled by the labors of physicists 
who opened roads of systematic investigation and rational 
experiment. Inventions and discoveries in all ramifications 
of human thought and occupation compelled science to step, 
occasionally, from the rostrum and enter the workshop of the 
artisan, the field of the farmer, the firesides of the people, 
and otherwise interest itself in all the concerns of every-day 
life. The result ot this newly developed feature was an in- 
crease in the influence of sciences, and a greater appreciation 
of their value. The dissemination of the knowledge of the 
laws of nature, drove superstition to the remotest corners, 
elevated the people upon a higher platform of intelligence 
and labor, made the elements of nature more subservient to 
the will of mankind, and opened an endless perspective ot 
discovery and invention, pointing to the eventual complete 
triumph of mind over matter. 

Higher education in this connection has to guard against 
the temptation of yielding to the alluring tendencies of 
agnostic materialism, on the one side, and to metaphysical 
speculation on the other; so that the great work of unravel- 
ing more and more the so-called mysteries of nature and of 
binding the elements to the chariot ot human progress, may 
be accomplished. 

Mathematics. Aside from its practical application in all 
human affairs, which gives it an importance conceded to no 
other science, mathematics is called "the queen of sciences," 
on account of its absolute freedom from empiricism. All 
sciences have to apply to mathematics for assistance; me- 
chanics and technics can not do without it, even the arts are 
dependent on it, and no sphere of activity of civilized life 
can entirely dispense with it. 

The study of mathematics has held undisputed sway in all 
higher schools of learning; and the improvements^! n practical 
demonstration, made in our times, to the greac credit of 



344 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

modern education, have only contributed to strengthen the 
position of this course among the academic courses. 

And yet, notwithstanding the study gives a training to 
the mind indispensable in pursuit of especially scientific, 
judicial, and technical careers, there is danger of contracting 
a certain degree of onesidedness through the too exclusive 
pursuit of this science. While mathematics in its lower 
branches and applications is pre-eminently practical, its ab- 
stract nature in the higher is liable to produce absentmind- 
edness, as witness the tragic end of Archimedes. 

It is a sign of high intellectuality to learn to think in the 
abstract, but it indicates a still higher degree, to know at 
any time how to give concrete application to any abstract 
deduction. This latter point every teacher in mathematics 
should aim to cultivate among his students, and thus infuse 
into the study that life which too often is lost among the 
formulas of the old scholastic treatment. 

BRANCHES OF MISCELLANEOUS EDUCATION. 

All branches ot miscellaneous education are left by their 
very nature to the option of the student. This option, how- 
ever, should be subject to several considerations among 
which natural qualifications take the first place. Every con- 
scientious teacher considers it his duty to ascertain as nearly 
as possible the adaptation of an applicant for any of these 
studies. How much time, labor, and means are often wasted 
in the vain endeavor to acquire an efficiency in a study for 
which the student has 'neither capacity nor inclination.'* 
Ignorance, or the vanity of parents, selfish interest of the 
teacher, whim of the pupil, or some other equally reprehen- 
sible motive, may be the incentive for the worse than useless 
attempt. Then again, on the other hand, many a latent 
talent is neglected through want of discernment or proper 
treatment. The idea entertained by many parents that the 



SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 345 

rudiments of these miscellaneous studies can be taught by 
anyone possessing' a smattering of knowledge concerning 
them, and that only after some advance has been made, more 
competent teachers should take the pupil in hand, is a per- 
nicious folly. The unfortunate pupil, after having been 
manipulated by such a makeshift, learns to his sorrow that 
all the work has not only to be done over again, but that he 
has to unlearn a great many mistakes. Whoever aspires to 
the pursuit of these studies, should see to it that he places 
himself under the tuition of a competent teacher, and thus 
secure a correct foundation for his further progress. 

SPECIAL PROFESSIONS IN LAW, MEDICINE, ETC. 

From an educational point of view, the study of the so- 
called learned professions appears to be the climax of all 
scholastic endeavors. In the great republic of science, 
letters, and arts, the competition for the highest positions is 
open to all. Excelsior should be the motto, and "the sur- 
vival of the fittest," the rule. But there are conditions and 
elements intermingling and interfering that make both the 
motto and the rule sometimes very problematical. 

There is yet much to be done in our general educational 
system, on the part of the school as well as on the part of the 
fireside, before the education of the people can rest upon so 
solid a foundation that it can bear superstructures whose 
altitudes can be seen only in the visions of prophets. The 
fitness for ascension upon the educational ladder must 
depend largely upon corresponding degrees of moral worth. 
A careful scrutiny in both directions at the entrance to each 
higher grade should be made obligatory, and thus not only 
intellectually unfit aspirants be turned from a course that 
must lead them eventually to dissapointment and failure, but 
also morally unworthy characters be restrained from contam- 
inating professions that should be the embodiment of integ- 



346 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

rity and virtue. The existence of shysters and quacks with 
their corresponding species in the other professions, as well 
as such intellectual experts as use their powers merely for 
selfish ends, proves the necessity of reformation in our educa- 
tional systems; a reformation that will endow our learned 
professions with that dignity and influence, to which their 
mission should entitle them. 







0ON0LUSION, 



To my Students and Felloiv- Teachers, and to all Friends of 

Education : 

More than two years have passed since I yielded to the en- 
treaties of my friends and entered upon the task of placing 
my educational views and teachings on record. What I 
promised in the prospectus, I have conscientiously endeavored 
to carry through, although your patience has no doubt been 
sorely tried by delays which were unavoidable. 

In delivering to you this treatise on scholastic and domes- 
tic education, I am prompted only by the desire to represent 
the intimate co-operation of School and Fireside, and the 
seasoning or modifying of all secular training by religious 
influence, as being the two most essential characteristics of 
the educational system now in course of development among 
the Latter-day Saints. 

There is no one that dare claim the credit for its design or 
its successful execution. As an integral part of the plan of 
salvation, it derives its origin and vitality from the Spirit of 
Eternal Truth. Hence, it is destined to vindicate itself, not- 
withstanding the opposition of the "spirit of the times"; to 
triumph over seemingly insurmountable obstacles; and 
eventually to evolve, step by step, beauties in methods, ar- 
rangements, and organizations, which, having cut loose from 
the vain theories of men, find their inspiration in heaven. 

Claiming the privilege of a veteran in the cause, I feel to 
exhort all parents and teachers of this younger generation to 
accept the work of Latter-day education as a sacred heritage, 
and to carry it to its final consumatioa, when those shall have 



348 SCHOOL AND FIRESIDE. 

passed away that have labored, perhaps not with your 
efficiency, but with a devotion tested in the furnace ot long 
and bitter trials. 

Thanking my Heavenly Father for the love and kind feel- 
ings which He has kindled in }>-our hearts towards me, and 
for the privilege of beholding among our people the opening 
of an educational era in which our youth shall be prepared 
for their glorious destiny, I feel to exclaim like Simeon of old: 

"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace!" 




Provo, Utah, June i, 1897. 



DR. MAESER^S JUBILEE.^ 



Owing to the wet under-foot, the triumphal procession 
planned in honor of Dr. Maeser had to be dispensed with. 
The students and visitors met the distinguished guest at the 
entrance of the Academy grounds, whither he was escorted 
in a carriage preceded by twelve marshals; six ladies, six 
gentlemen. 

In the large Assembly room, the stand had been superbly 
decorated. Upholstered chairs and settees, artistically 
grouped and surrounded by potted flowers, made a delightful 
picture. Brother Maeser sat in the center and around him 
his distinguished students, — President Clufif, President Tan- 
ner, Dr. Talmage, Professors Brimhall, Keeler, Mrs. Susa Y. 
Gates, and other well known teachers, and friends. 

The short addresses by President Tanner, Dr. Talmage, 
and Reed Smoot were especially fervent and eloquent. The 
male chorus, under the training of Mr. Whittaker, received 
marked applause. Then Miss Annie Pike came forward and 
recited the poem given below, her own composition. It was 
listened to with breathless attention; and at the close an 
incident took place which brought tears to the eyes of the 
audience. The venerable, white-haired teacher arose, and 
taking the young girl into his arms, kissed her, amid the 
rapturous applause of the assemblage. She had spoken the 
wish of the students; no other response could tell how dear 
he held the school. Here is the poem: 

Thou man! — the noblest work! — in age how dear, in youth how fair! 
How bright the sunlight glitters in the strands of golden hair, 
Or slumbers in the locks which are as black as moonless night! 
But silver are the golden strands, and black has changed to white. 

* Dr. Maeser having, during the month of May, 1898, completed fifty years of 
service as a teacher, the Faculty and Students of the Brigham Young Academy 
celebrated his jubilee with appropriate memorials, inviting all his students and 
friends to be present. We are indebted to Prof. N. L. Nelson for the account herewith 
presented. — Publishers. 



350 

I would not give thy wonder-crown for jeweled crowns of kings, 
Since time has pleased to touch thy locks as fair as angels' wings; 
And fair as when the sky smiles down upon a cloudless June, 
Upon thy life there is no stain,— as shadowless as noon. 

Yet thou hast come a long, long way; borne many a weary load, — 
Perchance thy feet have ached with pain upon the bitter road; 
But now thy watchful, loving eyes have seen the desert bloom. 
Have seen hope opalescent, and the work that changed the gloom. 

Now rises knowledge, wisdom, that have peopled all the plain. 
And thou who struggled bravely on, hast struggled not in vain! 
Thou man of patience, man of pride, thou man of noble worth! 
How can our seeming-paltry wish give joy to thee on earth? 

Thine was the work of head and heart, the work of heart and hand, — 

The circle of thy greatness we may not yet under.stand; 

But, oh, we wish that by our love and through our gratitude. 

That some kind day, that some grand day, thy path so thorn-bestrewed, 

May cease to pierce thy onward feet, and I<ove's unfailing might 

Shall bear thee on to glory, and shall make the cross more light! 

Then came the crowning feature of the program. Fifty- 
students, half of each sex, were divided into sections of ten 
to represent five epochs in Brother Maeser's life. They had 
been splendidly trained, and marched without a hitch in 
pretty figures in front of the guests. When they came to a 
halt, one of their number in a neat speech presented Brother 
Maeser a bouquet of ten magnificent cut roses, as .symbolic 
of the epoch they were representing. Then another student 
arose and delivered that portion of Brother Maeser's history 
which covered the period represented. This was repeated 
five times. 

Each section, in the meanwhile, had marched into the new 
College building on the east, and now all returned armed 
with fifty bouquets. The march brought them to a stand- 
still in a semi-circle around Brother Maeser, the ladies in 
white on the inside, the gentlemen in black on the outside. 
At a given chord all faced, then threw their flowers in a 
shower around their beloved Preceptor. 

The effect was electrical. The audience applauded wildly, 
then came to a hushed silence as Brother Maeser rose to re- 
spond. Tears stood in his eyes, and his speech was broken 



351 

every little while by sobs, at which a hundred handkerchiefs 
were drawn in the audience. When he sat down the ap- 
plause was continued for several minutes. 



SKETCH OF DR. MAESER^S LIFE. 



I EPOCH. FINDING HIS BEARINGS. 

(SPOKEN BY ERASTUS NIEJCSEN.) 

Dear Brother Maeser: — Permit me first of all to ex- 
press my gratitude and that of my colleagues for the honor 
of being spokesmen of brief epochs in your career as teacher. 
The events of those early days must be vivid to you now, 
and they will no doubt grow more vivid as the soul shall 
withdraw itself from the immediate concerns of life. To you 
they need not be repeated, but to this multitude of Zion's 
sons and daughters, who have met to do you honor, the ex- 
periences you have passed through will be helpful land- 
marks in the journey they are about to begin. I shall there- 
fore speak to them. 

Fellow students, seventy years ago on the i6th of Janu- 
ary last, there was born in Meissen, Germany, one who has 
lived to bless not only his own generation, but the second, 
third and fourth generations after him. May he live to bless 
still another! [Applause.] 

Of Brother Maeser's early lite it is not my province to 
speak. No doubt the Lord marked the boy and gave him 
lessons fitted to help him in his future mission. It is with 
the opening of his educational career that I am to deal. 
The first epoch, which began with his graduation from the 
Dresden Normal College, in May, 1848, may fitly be called, 
finding his bearings. 



352 

For three years he acted as tutor to the children of promi- 
nent Protestant families in Bohemia. But the mind of 
an ardent young man, fresh from the college, himself 
cherishing ambitions and aspirations, was not to be circum- 
scribed by the mere teaching of rudiments to children. 
While he did not neglect his charges, he tound time to take 
part in the stirring history-making of this period. Saxony 
and southern Germany were in the throes of a revolution. 
The young professor warmly supported the Liberal or Con- 
stitutional party; and though he was in the midst ot a strong- 
ly Catholic neighborhood, he held meetings every Sunday 
night to rally the scattered followers of Luther; and not 
without well-marked results. 

Knowing what zeal and earnestness have characterized 
his later life, we can form some idea of what must have been 
the impetuosity of those early efforts, when life seemed easy 
to solve. Youth is ever sanguine, and the best fruit is not 
achievement, but wisdom — wisdom, howsoever gained; for 
wisdom is equally valuable whether bought by victory or by 
defeat. A new epoch was about to dawn upon Brother 
Maeser, but of this I leave my successor to tell. 



II EPOCH. INVESTIGATING MORMONISM. 

(SPOKEN BY MISS EMMA HIGGS.) 

Brother Maeser's record in the Normal college, as well as 
his three years' work as tutor, had attracted due attention 
from the authorities. The magistrate of Dresden invited 
him to teach in the first district school of that city. Pro- 
motion soon followed, and his next post of responsibility was 
that of Oberlehrer or head teacher of the Budig Academy. 
But there were ties dearer than those of his professsion, con- 
necting him with the associations he had just served; he had 
met and fallen in love with a daughter of the principal of the 



353 

former school — a woman who, for nearly half a century after- 
wards, worked faithfully by his side through trials such as 
only a pioneer life can bring. 

But even the increased duties and responsibilities laid upon 
him by his position in the Budig Institute could not prevent 
his mind from seeking truth outside the beaten tracks of 
scholasticism. Had he taken up with the doctrines of social- 
ism or other periodical crazes that appeal to the enfranchized 
seeker after truth, it would not have seemed strange; but 
that he should find time to listen to Mormon Elders, humble 
in mien, stammering in speech, ungainly in bearing — he, the 
highly educated professor, the man accustomed to move in 
the most cultured society; — that he in the face of social and 
professional ostracism, should entertain these unlettered 
men, and listen to their message — this makes us exclaim: 
"God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform." 
But I am already discussing what belongs to the third epoch 
in Brother Maeser's career, and so I give way to my suc- 
cessor. 



Ill EPOCH, THE MISSIONARY, 

(SPOKEN BY O. v. HARRIS.) 

The 14th of October, 1855, marks an event of triple sig- 
nificance; historical, educational, and personal. This event 
was the baptism of Karl G. Maeser into the Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints, Apostle F. D. Richards perform- 
ing the ordinance. Historically the event is important as be- 
ing the first baptism in Saxony. Educationally it deserves 
remembrance as being the day on which the Lord made our 
present system of schools a future certainty; personally it 
was the most tremendous event in Brother Maeser's career, 
the transition, as it were, from death unto life. 

But from man's point of view, this event seemed like go- 
ing from life unto death; for no sooner was it known to the 



354 

authorities that he had "turned Mormon" than he was com- 
pelled not only to give up his position, but to flee trom his 
native land. 

There now began in the life of Brother Maeser a series of 
events not often parallelled in trial of faith, bitter privation, 
and devotion to duty under difficulties. Landing with his 
family in England, he spent one year laboring as a mission- 
ary among the Germans of London. He then took passage 
to America in a sailing vessel, disembarking at Philadelphia. 
The close of a long voyage, which should have occasioned 
joy, brought the keenest ot sorrow; his second son died the 
first night on shore. 

Another year of missionary labor was entered upon, this 
time in the State of Pennsylvania under the presidency of 
Angus M. Cannon. One has only to bear in mind his cir- 
cumstances at that time to picture the ordeal through which 
he was passing. A stranger in a strange land; unfamiliar 
with the language; a family to support; educated, it is true, 
but not to manual labor; and giving his time to preaching 
a message which served only to make him despised among 
men. Just then came the panic of 1857, which threw thou- 
sands of people out of employment and threatened the coun- 
try with famine. Brother Maeser was placed in charge of 
four Elders who, like himself, were driven to seek employ- 
ment or perish. Afoot and in mid-winter, they set out for 
Virginia, supporting themselves from place to place by sing- 
ing glees. AH found employment in Richmond, Brother 
Maeser as music teacher in the family of ex-President John 
Tyler and others. Here he remained for six months, when 
he was called to preside over the Philadelphia Conference, a 
position he held until June, i860. He was then placed in 
charge of a large body of emigrants as tar as Florence, 
Missouri, where they joined the company of Patriarch John 
Smith, which reached Salt Lake City in September, i860. 



355 
It was now nearly five years since he had left Germany — 
five years devoted to preaching the Gospel. However great 
the benefit mankind received from his ministrations, Brother 
Maeser is probably ready to admit, that he himself received 
even greater. This was the Lord's way of preparing him 
for that more glorious mission among the youth ot Zion. 



IV EPOCH. THE PIONEER TEACHER. 

(SPOKEN BY MISS JENNIE BAII^EY.) 

The fourth epoch in the life of Brother Maeser began 
when he settled in Salt Lake City. Although this event 
took place thirteen years after the Pioneers entered the 
valley, yet he escaped but few of the rigors of pioneer life. 
After five years preaching, he was not rich — save in faith 
and patience. Nor did this world's goods come to him very 
rapidly. Among a people educated by "roughing it," the 
dignity and value of the teacher's profession were not at once 
appreciated. 'T began teaching in the 15th ward," writes 
Brother Maeser, "under conditions so primitive that teach- 
ers of today can have no conception of them." Salaries 
nowadays are usually drawn on the bank; when Brother 
Maeser began teaching they were drawn on a wheelbarrow. 

In February, 1861, President Young placed Brother 
Maeser in charge of the so-cal-led Union Academy in the 
building situated opposite the present site of the University 
of Utah; "but for reasons far beyond my control," writes 
Brother Maeser, "I saw the impossibility ot ever making a 
success ot the school." Accepting therefore, shortly after- 
wards, an invitation from Bishop Sharp, he built up a large 
school in the 20th ward, employing three assistant teachers. 
In 1864 he was called to teach President Young's children in 
the little brick school-house north of Eagle Gate, inci- 
dently to act as book-keeper for L. W. Hardy & Co., and on 



356 

the Sabbath day to act as organist for the Tabernacle choir. 

This triple vocation lasted till 1867, when he was appoint- 
ed President of the Swiss and German mission. During the 
three years he was thus engaged, he started the Stern, organ 
of the German Saints, and translated our leading hymns into 
the German language; both of which publications have 
passed through many editions. On his return he resumed 
his labors in the 20th ward school, and also organized and 
taught during the same time the first Normal department in 
the Deseret University. 

This brings Brother Maeser's history up to the crowning 
feature of his life, — the fifth act in the drama of a great 
teacher's career, — his appointment as Principal of the Brigham 
Young Academy. 



V EPOCH. FATHER OF EDUCATION IN ZION . 

(SPOKEN BY THOMAS REES.*) 

Twenty-five years of varied service in the cause of God- 
service, ot a nature to try men's souls, had proved Brother 
Maeser capable of subduing self, and, like our Savior, doing 
the will of the Father, at whatever cost to his personal 
feelings. If he ever had idols, he left them behind him 
in Babylon; it he ever had been saturated with worldly 
ambitions, he had been so long exposed to the storms of 
adversity that they werfe bleached out of him, as it were. 
The experiences of a quarter of a century had crystalized in 
the simple maxim, "When the Lord commands, do it"; and 
like Joseph Smith, he made it the law of his life. 

Accordingly, after the April Conference, 1876, in which he 
was called to organize the Brigham Young Academy, he 
presented himself at President Young's office and asked for 
final instructions. "See to it," said the Prophet, "that you 
do not try to teach even the multiplication table without the 

* Brother Rees being unavoidably absent, it was read by Prof. Nelson. 



357 

Spirit of God. And with this simple admonition he came to 
Provo and began his labors. True to his trust he set no 
stakes as what he would do, but waited, morning and even- 
ing, as it were, for the guidance of the Spirit during the day. 
Something permanent he felt would grow out of his labors; 
what it would be, he was quite willing to let the Lord de- 
termine. It was this natural unfolding according to the inner 
propulsion of the Spirit, that enabled the Academy to fit itself 
so admirably to the wants of the Latter-day Saints. Had 
the cut-and-dried plans and methods of Germany been arbi- 
trarily made the basis of instruction, the Academy could 
never have been today the integral part it is of this Church 
and Kingdom. Brother Maeser recognized from the first 
that the school existed for Zion's sons and daughters, not 
Zion's sons and daughters for the school. 

When one looks back upon those early efforts twenty years 
ago, one can but marvel at the results today. It was not as 
if Brother Maeser had been welcomed to a community ripe 
for his services. The very desire for a higher education had 
to be created in the Territory. Even the common schools 
were held of so little account that men who could do nothing 
else were employed as teachers. How to elevate the educa- 
tional tone of the West was the question confronting him. 
There was not time to make scholars of his students, for they 
were snatched from his classes by an awakening public, and 
placed in charge of schools, ere they had well begun their 
studies. 

Brother Maeser, therefore, wisely made it his purpose to 
warm them spiritually; — to kindle in them the glow of en- 
thusiasm, and trust the rest to self-effort. His teaching soon 
bore fruit in every town and hamlet in Zion. For God had 
prepared the people for this work, and given to Brother 
Maeser only the mission of supplying the leaven. Part of the 
educational ferment which immediately followed is seen today 



358 

in these splendid buildings, — so different from the early home 

of the Academy. 

But, buildings and equipments are only a small part of the 
monument Brother Maeserhas raised in Zion. If the greatest 
effects of his work be summed up in one word, that word 
would be, CHARACTER. He gave a new and fuller meaning 
to the qualities for which the word stands. Commercial in- 
tegrity the world already had, — business relations can be re- 
lied upon to foster it; intellectual integrity it also had, — the 
attrition of mind with mind in the struggle for existence will 
ever make men keen and alert. But Brother Maeser, while 
not neglecting these qualities, made higher requirements. He 
insisted upon physical integrity, the keeping of our bodies 
free from vice; upon social integrity, purity and chastity in 
the relations of the sexes; upon moral integrity, the doing 
to others as we would be done by; upon spiritual integrity, 
the anchoring of our lives in Heaven by a testimony of the 
Gospel. All these things enter into the new meaning of 
character. It is by such weapons that Latter day Saints are 
to conquer the world. 

Nor was it alone by precept that he wrought. "Be your- 
self what you would have your pupils become," was one of 
his daily working mottoes. No student ever doubted that Dr. 
Maeser was an exemplar of his own principles; and just as 
the rugged, heavenward pointing Wasatch mountains give 
strength and loftiness of purpose to the children of the val- 
leys, so the daily association with this man of God tended 
to make the lives of his students beautiful and good and true. 




HAY 31334 



ERRATA. 

On page 15, third line from the bottom, insert "least" before "likely." 
On page 28, seventh line from top, read "These" instead of "The." 
On page 34, first paragraph, sixth line, fourth word, read "of" instead of "on." 
On page 48, .second line, read "of" in.stead of "in." 
On page 62, next to the la.st line, insert "that" after "Boesen." 
On page 64, third paragraph, fourth line, omit "h" in "inhexorable." 
On page 66, third paragraph, eleventh line, read ".should" instead of "would." 
On page 74, third paragraph, last line, read "and" instead of "an" 
On page 77, fifth line, insert "in" after "except." 

On page 85, fourth line from bottom, read "gentleman" instead of "gentlemen." 
On page 163, fifth paragraph, seventh line, read "from" instead of "for." 
On page 212, first paragraph, read "These" instead of "There." 

On page 229, next to the last line, read ".sufficiently elevated" instead of "sufficient 
by elevation." 

On page 244, first line, first word, read "precious" instead of "previous." 
On page 244, third paragraph, first line, la.st word, read "predicated" instead of 
"predicted," 

On page 319, second paragraph, second line, .second word, read "liegt" instead of 
"leigt." 

On page 336, first line, third word, read "form" instead of "perform." 
On page 342, fourth paragraph, first line, read "monopolized" instead of "monopo- 
lize." 

On page 342, fourth paragraph, fifth line, read "kings" in.stead of "king." 



